


Pokemon Cross: Origins

by Jonouchi



Series: Pokemon Cross Saga [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Red & Green & Blue & Yellow | Pokemon Red Green Blue Yellow Versions
Genre: Gen, Original Pokemon Trainer - Freeform, Pokemon - Freeform, Pokemon Battle, Pokemon Fanfiction, Pokemon Journey, Pokemon Master
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-13 15:44:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4527879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jonouchi/pseuds/Jonouchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story shows the adventures of some of the greatest trainers in the world. The stories of how they became ordinary citizens going on a simple journey for the first time and rising to stardom. In the first of many arcs, we meet Dash Ryuujin, a young child who after getting an initially unruly Bulbasaur begins his journey. Along the way, he gets involved in Team Rocket's mad scheme, unaware that they have a lot more to do with him than any of them had thought. This is a new generation of Pokemon. This is...</p><p>Pokemon Cross!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Journey of a Lifetime Begins!

**Pokémon Cross: Origins**

 

**Episode #1: The Journey of A Lifetime Begins!**

 

The Ultimate Battle Festival was a once in a lifetime event for the town of Pallet. Trainers from all over Pallet Town were gathered here to pit their prized Pokémon, the mysterious creatures that inhabit their world, in a battle for the coveted Battle Trophy. Pocket Monsters, commonly referred to as simply “Pokémon,” were creatures of all shapes and sizes, of all colors. Creatures that could spew fire from their mouths or shoot electrical bolts a will. Creatures as small as mice but as big as dinosaurs. Everyone trained these fantastic beings and these two trainers were no different. Tiffany, the young girl with long brown hair tied in a ponytail with a yellow and blue, skirted dress was battling against Tommy, the young brown-haired boy with the red and blue striped shirt and blue jeans, for the contest prize.

 

“Begin the match!” the announcer over the intercom said.

 

They were to do battle within the outdoor arena, where the festival took place. The large crowd roared in excitement as the two trainers sent out their respective Pokémon. Tiffany's Pokémon was a purple, mean-faced, rabbit-like Pokémon with a horn on its head, spikes along its back and numerous spots that were a darker shade of purple. Tommy's Pokémon was a small, purple human-like Pokémon that was as tall as he was. It had a very sinister, yet cartoon-like smile on its face. The two prepared to do battle in the Ultimate Battle Festival.

 

“Nidorino, use Poison Sting!” Tiffany ordered.

 

“Gengar, use Night Shade!” Tommy countered.

 

Nidorino fired pink thin needles from his mouth towards Gengar, but his opponent fired a dark, black bolt from its eyes towards Nidorino. The attack hit, sending him back, but he was far from out.

 

“Focus Energy!” Tiffany ordered.

 

Nidorino increased his attack power greatly. While all of this was going on, three children, all who seemed to be members of a cheering squad, which consisted of male cheerleaders, cheered for Tiffany and her Nidorino. They were all wearing bluish-black, long coats and white headbands with long straps behind their heads. They were chanting a good luck routine while making various punches to show off their support to Nidorino.

 

“Hypnosis!” Tommy ordered.

 

Gengar began to send an odd aura into Nidorino as he slowly fell asleep. Tiffany was in a bit of a bind, but she knew how to get out of it.

 

“Dream Eater!” Tommy ordered once more.

 

Gengar shot a purple beam at Nidorino as he sucked the energy from Nidorino to heal himself with. The trio of cheerleaders kept on rooting for Nidorino to fight back, and this cheering caused Nidorino to wake up and break free from the dream eater attack.

 

“Poison Sting!” Tiffany ordered.

 

Nidorino fired the same pink needles again and struck Gengar for some cold, hard damage.

 

“Night Shade!” Tommy ordered.

 

Gengar fired the same beam from before, causing the cheerleaders to cheer harder, but Tiffany had other plans in mind.

 

“Horn Drill to intercept!”

 

Nidorino used its horn to create a powerful force as it spun around violently. The attack was intercepted and was forcefully sent back, taking a lot of damage from the Horn Drill.

 

“Now, let's use the attack we've been training for!” Tiffany said. “Thunderbolt!”

 

Nidorino began to spark with electricity and released a powerful shock wave that dealt a heavy amount of damage to Gengar, who fell to the ground, unable to battle. The crowd cheered for Tiffany's victory, as well as the three cheering squad members who worked so hard to support Tiffany for her job well done. One certain cheering squad veteran, the one with short, black hair brushed towards his face, admired the battle, and couldn't wait until he battled like that. His journey would soon begin, one that would change his life forever.

 

This is a new generation of Pokémon.

 

This is...

 

 

**Pokémon Cross**

 

 

The three cheering squad veterans returned to the locker room after a hard day of work. The black-haired kid, Dash Ryuujin, was about to receive his first Pokémon from Professor Oak, the resident researcher who gave three starter Pokémon for the new trainers to take care of for their journey. His tenth birthday was last week, but tomorrow would be his chance to obtain his starter Pokémon. His other friends were to get their starters as well. Billy, the young, pudgy, bald kid, was planning on getting himself a Squirtle, a Water Type Pokémon, while Karl, the kid with the long, brown hair, wanted a Charmander, a Fire Type Pokémon. Dash himself wanted a Bulbasaur, a Grass Type Pokémon. These Pokémon were well trained for beginning trainers, and all three of them were excited to get one.

 

“Boy that was some battle out there,” Dash said. “My sister sure knows how to fight, huh?”

 

“I'll say,” Billy replied. “Nidorino was top notch!”

 

“Eh, I think it could have worked if our opponent wasn't a Ghost Type,” Karl said. He was more or less the brains of the group. “Remember, we taught Nidorino Thunderbolt, an attack it can't learn naturally, so we could have an edge over Gengar.”

 

“I guess,” Dash replied. “Anyway, tomorrow's the big day!”

 

“STARTER POKÉMON PARTY TOMORROW!!!!!” Billy shouted. “Dash, you're inviting us, right?”

 

“Wait, I'm hosting it?!”

 

“Why not? My parents can't afford a party and Karl suggested it.”

 

“Hey, he's not supposed to know that!” Karl snapped. “Besides, I don't host parties. I go to them. Except for birthday parties, which I can host myself.”

 

Dash felt cheated by his own friends. He soon gave in and sighed softly.

 

“I'll ask my sis and call you tomorrow,” Dash said.

 

“Awesome!” Billy cheered, hugging Dash tightly.

 

Dash felt like it was going to be a long day tomorrow. The three shoved their belongings in their lockers and headed off to their homes, saying their goodbyes as well. Tomorrow, Dash would wake up early, about 6:00 AM to get his starter before everyone else.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------

 

Dash, true to his word, headed towards Professor Oak's lab well before the sun was up to obtain his starter Pokémon for his journey across the Kanto Region. He approached the large, tan-walled house, which was Professor Oak's lab. He knocked on the door and called out for Professor Oak.

 

“Hold on, I'm coming!” someone shouted beyond the door.

 

The door opens to reveal an old man with gray short hair wearing a lab coat over his red, collared shirt and long, brown pants as he looked down at Dash who smiled happily.

 

“I'm here for my starter Pokémon, Professor Oak,” Dash said.

 

Professor Oak sighed.

 

“You couldn't come at a later time?” he asked “You're the third person who did this today.”

 

“Third?” Dash asked.

 

“Come on in.”

 

Professor Oak walked inside and showed him the main table with only one Poké Ball, a round ball with a red top and a white bottom that's no bigger than a ping-pong ball.

 

“I only have one here right now,” Oak said. “It's a Bulbasaur.”

 

“At least it's the one I want.”

 

“The two that came here before took Charmander and Squirtle.”

 

Dash sighed in anger. He took Bulbasaur's Poké Ball and pressed a button to increase it's size. It was now the size of a baseball and could easily be thrown.

 

“Come on out, Bulbasaur!” Dash said.

 

The red half of the ball bent away to let a white stream of energy out. The energy began to form into a green creature with a lizard-like head and a frog-like body with a plant-like bulb on his back that was a brighter shade of green. He also had numerous spots that were a darker shade of green, almost resembling blue in a way.

 

“You'll also need these,” Professor Oak said, handing him five more Poké Balls, as well as a red, square PDA-like object. “Your five Poké Balls and your Pokédex.”

 

“What's a Pokédex?” Dash asked.

 

“Well...It's like a database for every Pokémon in the world. There are well over 150 Pokémon, even more. It's up to me, and you, to make sure we discover all of them for our research.”

 

Dash looked down at Bulbasaur and saw that he was sleeping. It felt kind of awkward for a Pokémon to be sleeping at a time like this.

 

“Come on, Bulbasaur,” Dash said. “Wake up.”

 

Dash slowly rubbed the bulb on Bulbasaur's back, leaving his Pokémon to snap back at him. Dash jerked his hand away while Bulbasaur went back to sleep. Dash felt like he was going to need a lot to get Bulbasaur to listen to him.

 

“So how do I use this?” Dash asked Professor Oak, wondering how to use the Pokédex properly.

 

Professor Oak walked him through it and eventually got it down pat. He opened the Pokédex up and scanned his Bulbasaur.

 

“BULBASAUR: THE SEED POKÉMON. DURING BIRTH, A SEED WAS PLANTED ON ITS BACK, GROWING AS TIME GOES BY, STORING ENERGY IN THE PROCESS. IT CAN GO FOR DAYS WITHOUT EATING A SINGLE MORSEL.”

 

“Pretty neat, huh?” Oak asked.

 

Dash was interested with his new items. He recalled Bulbasaur back into his Poké Ball and thanked Professor Oak as he headed off. He was a little disappointed that his friends wouldn't get the chance to get their chosen starters, but at least he got his. Just then, his friends came by to greet him, since they had the same bright idea as well. Though, Dash felt like he had to explain about why he was the only one of the three who got a Pokémon.

 

“So, did you get it?” Billy asked.

 

“Right here!” Dash said, holding his Poké Ball out triumphantly.

 

“All right!!! I can't wait to get my Squirtle!”

 

“Uhh...about that...”

 

Dash explained about the situation with Professor Oak and the other two. Needless to say, they were all disappointed.

 

“You mean, the other two got up well before us?” Billy said in shock.

 

“Yeah,” Dash said. “I still have my Bulbasaur at least.”

 

“Can we see it?!”

 

“At the party.”

 

The two almost fell to the ground while Dash simply smiled.

 

“Remember our deal?” Dash asked. “I'd only show it to you at the party.”

 

They all remembered that deal they made last night when they left for home. Dash headed back to his house to show his sister his starter Pokémon. He was so excited that he busted through the house screaming for her. His sister, Tiffany, the same one whom he was cheering for at the Battle Festival, came downstairs to see Dash holding his Poké Ball containing his Bulbasaur.

 

“Hey Dash,” she said. “You're back early.”

 

“I got my Bulbasaur,” Dash said, holding his Poké Ball out. “Want to see it?”

 

“Sure, let's see the cutie!”

 

Dash sent out his Bulbasaur, who was wide awake and looking straight up at Tiffany. She looked down at it with a smile, turning to Dash after that.

 

“He's very cute,” she said. “So are you stopping by mom's grave before you go off?”

 

“Yeah,” Dash said. “I just wish she was here to see me off.”

 

“Me too. Dad as well.”

 

Both of their parents died in a mysterious accident that took both of their lives. Tiffany and Dash Ryuujin were the only two left, so they had to take care of themselves. Luckily, they still had their parent's house, which they left to Tiffany when either of them died, which she was old enough to take care of.

 

“I'll stop by the graveyard today. I just need to figure out which flow---”

 

Dash suddenly felt something odd near his leg as he looks down to see Bulbasaur smiling in relief.

 

“Oh God...he's not,” Dash said to himself. Tiffany was a bit surprised at his disobedience. “BULBASAUR, STOP THAT!!!!! THAT'S DISGUSTING!!!!!!”

 

Dash had a feeling that he didn't want this to happen; a Pokémon who wouldn't obey him to even the slightest orders. He felt like it was going to be a long journey.

 

\------------------------------------------------------

 

The Pallet Town graveyard within the area of Route 1 was an area for those who have fallen. Pokémon, sadly, met the same fate eventually like everyone else did, but they had their own grave site in Lavender Town, which was miles away from Dash's hometown. He and Bulbasaur decided to pay their respects to his mother, who died with his father in an accident caused by an evil group that was feared all over the Kanto region. Dash made it to his mother's grave with a bouquet of flowers that were a bunch of different colors. He placed them on the ground and prayed to his mother.

 

“Bulbasaur, this is my mother's grave,” Dash said. “She died in a car accident when I was seven. Have you lost anyone when you were young?”

 

Bulbasaur couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He looked at the grave, wondering if humans died like Pokémon. Bulbasaur was never around humans too much, only Professor Oak, and a bunch of other individuals.

 

“Well...I think you might have been young like me. You look like a young Pokémon too. Can you tell me how they died?”

 

“Bulba...bulba, bulbasaur.”

 

“Any reason why you're repeating your name?”

 

“Bulb, bulba!”

 

“Oh, that's how you talk, huh? Right, I sort of knew that. Anyway, you should pray with me.”

 

Bulbasaur didn't want to listen to him, but he was reminded of how his Pokémon parents died. Bulbasaur closed his eyes and gave respect to his trainer's mother.

 

“Aww, how sweet,” someone said in a mocking tone.

 

Dash looked behind him and saw three people, dressed in black tank tops and black, leather pants with cool shades over their eyes. The ringleader, the one with the over-sized pompadour, walked over to Dash, who crawled back nervously.

 

“Didn't anyone tell you that this is the Kanto Guard's territory?” the pompadour man said.

 

“Says who?!” Dash snapped.

 

“Says ME!”

 

He kicked Dash across the face as he was sent flying over to the side. Bulbasaur reacted in anger while the trio laughed at him.

 

“BULBA!!!!” Bulbasaur snapped at him.

 

Bulbasaur shot some leaves from its bulb that turned into sharp projectiles that sliced the pompadour kid's suit. He fell to the ground, but he sat up and smiled.

 

“Oh, what a cute Pokémon,” he said in a mocking tone.

 

“Don't you just want to hug him, Ricky?” the bald man said in the same manner.

 

They all laughed while Ricky got up, making Bulbasaur a little nervous in response.

 

“Yeah, you know,” Ricky said, “I really do.”

 

He then stomped on Dash's flowers and used his muscles to lift the tombstone from Dash's mother's grave and raised it over his head.

 

“SO HOW ABOUT I SHOW IT SOME AFFECTION?!?!”

 

Dash got up and bit on Ricky's body, causing him to drop the tombstone on his foot and squeal in pain. He punched Dash's head and kicked him away.

 

“Don't you touch me, punk!!!” Ricky growled.

 

“You...you destroyed my mother's grave,” Dash said in anger, “Don't you have any respect for the deceased?!?!”

 

“I couldn’t care less about others who had their loved ones die, cheering boy!”

 

Bulbasaur seemed to remember these guys from somewhere, but he didn't know where.

 

“You're gonna pay for biting me!” Ricky said in anger.

 

He lifted the tombstone over his head and swung it down onto Dash, but before it could get to his head, he felt something tightening up, leaving him to look up and see Bulbasaur's vines from under its bulb. Bulbasaur swung him around and threw him to the others. Dash walked over to Bulbasaur and picked him up as the vines retreated to its body.

 

“BULBA BULBA!!!!” Bulbasaur shouted. “BULBASAUR!!!!”

 

Bulbasaur kept shouting at them, but Dash didn't know why.

 

“That pesky dirtbag!” the pompadour thug said. “Your Bulbasaur's a wimp, just like the one we killed!”

 

Dash was stunned to hear that, but Bulbasaur's anger rose to a new level. He suddenly began to absorb sunlight into it's body while growling in anger. The men just laughed at them, but Bulbasaur wasn't going to take it anymore.

 

“Bulbasaur,” Dash said. “Did these guys...”

 

Bulbasaur finished charging its power and let loose a powerful beam that sent all three of them flying away. The blast went for miles and eventually exploded in the distance. Dash was amazed at how much power he had for such a small guy. He soon found Bulbasaur asleep on the ground, exhausted from the attack he just used.

 

After a while, Bulbasaur was busy moving the remains of the busted flowers that the trio destroyed. Bulbasaur felt really bad for Dash and wanted to do all he could to make it up to him. Dash saw that this was the case as well. Dash walked over to Bulbasaur and pet him on the head.

 

“I really like what you're doing for me...but it's all right.”

 

Bulbasaur snapped at him and continued to fix everything. Dash felt really bad for Bulbasaur, despite him wanting his Pokémon to not worry about it so much.

 

“You....had a family who died...didn't you? From those same guys we saw earlier.”

 

Bulbasaur knew who he was referring to and slowly looked up at him. Bulbasaur nodded and surprised Dash a little.

 

“You know...not all humans are like that. I bet that's why you're so abusive with me...I know what it's like to lose someone to bad guys, believe me....I feel the same way.”

 

Bulbasaur stopped finally and prayed to Dash's mother. Dash knew he felt bad for his human, but he felt like they were closer than they originally thought.

 

“I'm going on a journey,” Dash said. Bulbasaur looks up at him. “Do you want to join me?”

 

Bulbasaur looked at him wondering if he really wanted him to come along. Bulbasaur shot his vine whip out, but while Dash cringed, he felt something moving his hand. Bulbasaur's vine was wrapped around Dash's hand, slowly moving it up and down to mimic him shaking hands with him.

 

“Is that a yes?”

 

“Bulba!”

 

Bulbasaur leapt onto him as Dash gave him a hug. He suddenly felt something odd pushing against him, only to see a wet spot on his shirt.

 

“That's my outfit!!!” Dash snapped.

 

Bulbasaur frowned in shame, but soon after, the two laughed it off and decided to head back home to prepare for their journey tomorrow.

 

 

_So it looks like I'm on a journey with Bulbasaur. I'm bound to meet new Pokémon along the way, and even catch a few as well. I don't know what I'll expect, but I at least have Bulbasaur with me. This is the start of my journey through the Kanto Region. I'm Dash Ryuujin, training to be a Pokémon Master!_

 

 

To Be Continued!


	2. Lina, The Mysterious Young Girl!

**Episode #2: Lina, the Mysterious Young Girl!**

  


Dash and Bulbasaur looked down at the mighty city known only as Viridian City. The Pokémon League wasn't too far off, but that wasn't Dash's destination right now. He wanted to explore the city before he decided on what to do with his journey. So far, the adventure in Viridian City was exciting for him. Bulbasaur seemed interested as well, since he was rarely outside of his home in Pallet Town. This was amazing for him with all the buildings surrounding him.

 

“Neat,” Dash said, “huh, Bulbasaur?”

 

“Bulba!” his trusty Pokémon said.

 

“We just have to figure out where to go from here. I've never really been inside of a city like this before.”

 

He stopped to see Bulbasaur sniffing some of the flowers that a nearby florist was advertising. The brown-haired woman with the white apron over her pink dress found him to be really cute.

 

“Sorry about my Bulbasaur,” Dash said.

 

“Oh, it's all right,” she replied. “He's very cute.”

 

“Thanks I just got him.”

 

“Oh you're a starting trainer I see. Well, are you planning on entering the Pokémon League?”

 

“What's that?”

 

“It's a tournament sanctioned by the Pokémon League Organization, who oversee a lot of the laws surrounding Pokémon. Trainers who earn eight badges from any of the Gyms in Kanto will be able to participate. The winner will be crowned with the greatest title ever, Pokémon Master!”

 

Dash found it interesting and really wanted to enter. If he had to travel across Kanto anyway, this might be a good thing for him,.

 

“I used to be part of the league, as a participant. I entered numerous times, but I won only one league.”

 

“What do you think, Bulbasaur?” Dash asked. “Want to enter?”

 

“Bulba!” Bulbasaur replied.

 

“Do you know where the nearest Gym is?”

 

“Sure. It’s on the other side of the city. We call it the Viridian Gym. The leader uses Ground Types, so your Bulbasaur should do fine. I should warn you, the leader is the strongest around.”

 

Dash was a little nervous about battling such a strong opponent. He said his goodbyes and headed off to find the Viridian Gym. Pokémon Gyms weren't like real life gyms where people work out to lose weight. Pokémon Gyms, owned by the Pokémon League, were locations where trainers earned badges, which in turn are owned by Gym Leaders. Trainers needed to defeat eight Gyms in order to enter the league. It took Dash at least half an hour before he arrived at the suburbs of Viridian City, a small little town-like area that bordered the city itself. The Gym wasn’t too far off, but he managed to see it in the distance.

 

“STOP!!!!” someone shouted.

 

Dash and Bulbasaur stopped to see who it was, but suddenly a mysterious figure passed him and nearly knocked him over. Before he could get a glimpse of this figure, it vanished. Dash looked behind him, wondering who that was just now.

 

“Hey you, kid!” someone else said.

 

Dash looked behind him to see two men, dressed in all black outfits with matching gloves, beret, and a thief-like mask. They both had a large R on their chest, which was their logo. They looked alike, but the only thing setting them apart was their height, with one grunt being slightly taller than the other.

 

“Where did that girl go?” one of the grunts asked.

 

“What girl?” Dash asked.

 

“Don’t play stupid! That girl with the metal glove, where is she?”

 

Dash wondered what he meant by metal glove. Just who was this person that he “accidentally” bumped into?

 

“It just happened so fast that I…I didn’t really see where she went,” Dash replied nervously, as he didn’t want a fight from them.

 

“This kid is becoming a pest!” the grunt said.

 

“What should we do?” the other grunt replied.

 

“You'd better have an answer for us, kid!”

 

Dash was afraid of these two. Suddenly he looked down at his Bulbasaur and remembered his goal: to be the best trainer there ever was.

 

“Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!” Dash ordered.

 

Bulbasaur fired numerous curved leaves that strike the two grunts hard. They both fell down, giving Dash the initiative to run.

 

“Let’s go, Bulbasaur!” Dash said, running away.

 

Dash began to run away, but before he could get anywhere, he was knocked to the ground by a large, purple snake-like Pokémon with a yellow ring around its neck and yellow, reptilian eyes. The Pokémon, known as an Ekans, wrapped around Dash’s neck and prepared to squeeze the life out of him.

 

“You dare mess with us?” one of the grunts replied. “You have some nerve, you brat!”

 

“Bulbasaur, use---GAH!!!”

 

The snake Pokémon continued to choke him, causing him to roll on his back and attempted to remove him from his neck. His squeezing power was surely strong, since Dash made no effort to make him budge.

 

“Ekans, deal with him!” one of the grunts said.

 

Suddenly, a small, yet powerful blue beam struck Ekans, shooting him off and leaving Dash to get up. A young, brown haired girl with two spiked pigtails below her head, dressed in a blue and brown colored jacket with blue pants and a metal brace on her arm, attaching to her gloved hand, confronted the two grunts, hoping to save Dash from harm.

 

“It’s her!” one of the grunts said. “The one we’ve been looking for!”

 

Suddenly, she shot herself towards Dash and grabbed his neck, which, ironically, was choked prior and ran off like lightning. She pointed her finger to them and fired a beam at the two grunts, exploding and sending them flying back. Before they knew it, they were both long gone. Sadly, Bulbasaur was left behind, wondering what to do now.

 

“That was unexpected,” the grunt said. “However, I guess we should take this Bulbasaur as some sort of excuse.”

 

Bulbasaur was nervous about what they were going to do with him. Bulbasaur called out to his trainer, however he was taken in by the grunts. What would become of him, even Bulbasaur didn’t know.

 

 

* * *

 

Dash and his hero were both in an alleyway far away from where the grunts were. The girl sighed as she finally lost them. She sat down and relaxed safely, but she was soon interrupted when she saw Dash freaking out at her. She raised an eyebrow, wondering what was wrong.

 

“What’s with you?” she asked.

 

Dash couldn’t say anything, though; It wasn’t every day that one would see a person shooting a blue beam out of one’s fingertips.

 

“You….that…it….ahh..I…er…!”

 

Dash was just sputtering out more random words that did not make any eligible sentence. The girl simply dismissed him as some sort of idiot.

 

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-WHAT WAS THAT??!?!?!?!?!” Dash said in complete and utter shock.

 

“What was what?” she asked back.

 

“That-that-that thing! That thing from your finger!!!”

 

“Oh, you mean that beam? Just something I got for free.”

 

“FOR FREE?!?!?! THAT’S JUST INSANE!!!!”

 

“You’re the one that’s insane, weirdo.”

 

“I AM NOT A WEIRDO!!!! IT’S NOT NATURAL FOR SOMEONE TO DO THAT!!!!”

 

The girl suddenly fired a beam at his head, causing him to fall on the ground, but left him unharmed.

 

“Would you calm down for one second?” the girl asked. “It's not going to kill anyone. I don’t know how I got this, but I was told that it was for free, so don’t go and call me a freak just because I can shoot a beam from my hands. I can tell you that I wasn’t born with this.”

 

Dash suddenly looked around to realize that Bulbasaur was nowhere to be found. Dash panicked, knowing that his starter, and only Pokémon, was missing.

 

“WHERE’S BULBASAUR?!?!?!?!” Dash shouted in fear.

 

“You’re going to have those Team Rocket guys coming after us with all that screaming,” the girl said.

 

“I DON’T CARE, WHERE’S BULBASAUR?!?!?!”

 

“Hmm…must have left him back there.”

 

“YOU ACT LIKE THAT’S NOT A BAD THING AT ALL!!!! WHAT IF THEY HURT HI---“

 

Dash suddenly got another blast of her laser in the head as punishment for acting out again.

 

“Will you calm down already?” she asked.

 

Dash took her advice and decided to calm down, slowly inhaling while worrying about his Bulbasaur’s safety.

 

“Now, I know where they’ll take him, but you have to promise me that you’ll calm the heck down on the way.”

 

Dash was worried about trusting this girl, but he needed to do something to find out where his Bulbasaur was. He remembered something that she mentioned earlier.

 

“You mentioned this Team Rocket group,” Dash said. “Who are they?”

 

“Follow me and I’ll explain on the way,” she replied. “I’m Lina, by the way.”

 

“Dash Ryuujin.”

 

Dash got up and follows Lina to wherever she was taking him. Dash could only think about the safety of his Bulbasaur and only hoped that he was indeed safe.

 

 

* * *

 

Dash and Lina both arrived at the Viridian City Gym, which was Dash’s original destination on his journey. Dash was confused as to why they were here in the first place.

 

“It says the ‘Viridian City Gym,’” Dash said, repeating what was on a stone plate in the front of the large Dome-like building.

 

“This is rumored to be Team Rocket’s headquarters,” Lina state, “but that’s up to you if you want to believe me.”

 

Dash gulped nervously about what he heard from Lina. He would never have guessed that a bad organization like Team Rocket would run a gym sanctioned by the Pokémon League.

 

“So, care to go inside?” Lina asked.

 

Dash was wondering if this was truly a smart move. He decided to go with it and headed towards the entrance. He went to the door and slowly opened it, walking inside. The inside was a large battlefield in a dark, torch-lit room. There was a large window above him to the sides, with nothing on the actual ceiling above him.

 

“Okay, here goes nothing,” he said. “HELLO?! I WANT MY BULBASAUR BACK!!!!”

 

While he was yelling, numerous people from a security room downstairs were watching him through one of their cameras within the gym. One of the specific individuals, a young boy, about Dash’s age, who was wearing the same black outfits as the rest of the grunts (the only exception being a bit of brown hair pointing to his left side) looked at the camera and saw Dash calling for Bulbasaur.

 

“It seems that kid won’t give up,” one of the operators nearest to him said. “What should we do, Master Durrell?”

 

Durrell remained silent. He eventually walked off to the Gym arena.

 

“I’ll handle him,” he said.

 

Dash stopped calling out to Bulbasaur, when suddenly he heard the intercom above making a crackling sound.

 

“Who goes there?” someone said over the loud intercom.

 

“I want my Bulbasaur back!!!!” Dash shouted.

 

“We’ll give him to you. However, you must play a little game with us.”

 

“A game?”

 

“You must battle the Viridian Gym Leader first. If you lose, you must surrender yourself and work for Team Rocket. If you win...well…I guess you’re free to go at that point.”

 

Dash only wanted Bulbasaur to remain out of harm’s way. He didn’t care much about anything else.

 

“You’re on!” Dash shouted.

 

“Good. Now don’t go anywhere.”

 

The door suddenly locked behind him, causing Dash to run back and attempt to open it again. He had no such luck. Dash could hear some sort of elevator slowly falling from above. He looked behind him to see Durrell, who was now wearing a teal-colored shirt with a pair of black pants and a red scarf. He still had his usual beret, only this one was gray colored. A simple, plain look aside from his usual Rocket uniform. He also had a young Bulbasaur, which happened to be Dash’s, since it was calling out to him in his own Pokémon language.

 

“ _That guy,_ ” Dash thought. “ _He’s my age!_ ”

 

The elevator soon hit the ground as Bulbasaur ran to Dash. He picked him up and hugged him happily, satisfied that he was safe and sound.

 

“Your deal’s not finished yet,” Durrell said. “I am the leader of Viridian City, Durrell.”

 

“Wait, the sign outside said that Giovanni's the Gym Leader!” Dash replied.

 

“That is correct. However our current Gym Leader is not present at this point in time. He’s on an important business meeting in Saffron City. I, however, have offered to fill in for him, and I’m just as strong as he will ever be! Now, are you ready?"

 

Dash stood up while Bulbasaur prepared to battle with this mysterious young boy.

 

"Well, I hope you're ready!" he said. "Go, Rhydon!"

 

Durrell sent out a large, dinosaur-like Pokémon with gray skin with a tan underside, a large, thick tail, a large drill on its forehead and numerous pointy spikes that rest along its back. Dash opened his Pokédex to see what it was.

 

"RHYDON: THE DRILL POKÉMON; THE EVOLVED FORM OF RHYHORN. THEIR ARMOR-LIKE HIDE CAN FORCE IT TO WITHSTAND LAVA AT NEARLY 3,600 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT."

 

Dash looked at the fear-inducing Pokémon and wondered if this really was a smart move. Even Bulbasaur was worried.

 

"Bulbasaur, can you fight it?" Dash asked.

 

Bulbasaur looked back and slowly nodded in response. He moved onto the battlefield to face off against the mighty Rhydon.

 

"So be it," Durrell said. "Rhydon, use Fury Attack!"

 

"Razor Leaf!" Dash ordered.

 

Rhydon charged forward, while Bulbasaur just cowered in fear at it. Rhydon continually attacked it with a Fury Attack, stabbing it continuously with his horn.

 

"Bulbasaur, do something, please!" Dash shouted.

 

Bulbasaur was too scared to battle. Dash had never seen this side of Bulbasaur before. A Pokémon who would act out against his own trainer couldn't stand up to a Rock and Ground Pokémon, something he could easily take on.

 

"Horn Drill!" Durrell ordered.

 

Rhydon powered up its horn and unleashed a powerful strike that slammed Bulbasaur into the wall, nearly shattering it completely. Bulbasaur fell onto the ground, unable to battle.

 

"No way," Dash said. "That easily?!"

 

"Horn Drill knocks anyone out, regardless of their power," Durrell stated. "Anyway, you know the end of the bargain."

 

Dash ran over to lift Bulbasaur up and attempt to escape, but Rhydon blocked his path leaving them no room to escape.

 

"Your time is up, boy," Durrell said softly. "Rhydon, use Horn Drill once more!"

 

Suddenly another blue beam struck Rhydon and knocked it over. A stronger more powerful beam struck the ground, setting the whole place in smoke. It took a while for it to clear, but Dash and Bulbasaur mysteriously vanished.

 

"Boss, what happened?!" the grunt over the intercom said.

 

Durrell was silent, knowing that it was Lina who came and rescued Dash from harm. He only wondered what she was doing here.

 

"Boss!" the grunt repeated.

 

"Call Yuka and send her to Mount Moon," Durrell Replied. "They're bound to approach our rendezvous point."

 

"Yes sir!"

 

Durrell recalled his Rhydon and walked back to where the elevator was dropping to pick him up. He looked back at the hole in the ceiling and made sure to deal with Lina once and for all.

  


 

* * *

 

In an alleyway far from the Gym itself, Dash was hugging his Bulbasaur with love. He was glad that he's back with his Pokémon, and so was Lina. She wondered why Bulbasaur freaked out about that Rhydon, since it was weird for a Grass Type to be afraid of something like a Rock Type.

 

“Hey, Dash?” Lina asked. “What’s up with Bulbasaur?”

 

“I don’t know to be honest,” Dash replied, knowing what she's talking about. “I’ve never seen him act this way before.”

 

Dash wondered about this as well. Being a Grass Pokémon, Bulbasaur should have at least been brave enough to deal with that Rhydon, not that it would have mattered much. He decided to place him back into his Poké Ball and head off to Pewter City, the next stop on his journey.

 

“Anyway, I guess I'd better head off,” Dash said. “Thanks for all of your help!”

 

Dash and Bulbasaur head off, while Lina pulled him back for a bit.

 

“I forgot to mention something to you,” she said. “Those Team Rocket members will go after you now that you know who they are. So, with that in mind, I’ve decided to accompany you on your journey!”

 

Dash was confused. He had no clue why Lina of all people would want to join up with them in the first place.

 

“Besides, you’re a really poor battler, so I’ll teach you a thing or two about battling!”

 

“Wait, I don’t think---“

 

Before Dash could say anything, she grabbed him by his neck and ran off to Viridian Forest, which was where they both needed to go in order to reach Pewter City. It would be a long ride before they would reach the next gym.

  


To Be Continued!


	3. The Rivalry of Love

**Episode #3: The Rivalry of Love!**

  


As the duo continued to travel through Viridian Forest to Pewter City, their next stop, Dash seemed to get the thought of catching another Pokémon. Lina stated that he needed two Pokémon for the Pewter Gym battle, but he didn’t know where to get one. They eventually saw a small, yellow worm-like Pokémon with small, round, pink feet with a pink nose and a horn on its head and tail.

 

“How about this guy?” she asked.

 

Dash opened his Pokédex to find out what it was.

 

“WEEDLE: THE HAIRY BUG POKÉMON. WEEDLE ARE OFTEN FOUND IN FORESTS, EATING LEAVES. IT HAS A SHARP VENOMOUS STINGER ON ITS HEAD.”

 

“Are Bug Pokémon useful in a Rock Type gym?” Dash asked, putting his Pokédex away in his pocket.

 

“Not sure,” Lina replied, “but it could be helpful if it evolved into a Beedrill.”

 

Dash thought about it and decided to go with it. He took out an empty Poké Ball and prepared to catch it.

 

“Go, Poké Ball!” Dash said.

 

“Dash, hold up!” Lina shouted.

 

Dash already threw the Poké Ball and encased the Weedle inside. The ball wiggled around, but Dash didn’t notice it.

 

“Dash, what are you doing?!” Lina asked.

 

“What?” he replied. “I caught it, didn’t I?”

 

The Weedle released itself before it was caught inside and shot poison tipped needles that struck Dash in the chest, knocking him over while Weedle squirmed off.

 

“Idiot,” Lina sighed.

 

She took him elsewhere and tended to his poison. A simple Poké Ball would not catch Pokémon that easily; it was much more complicated than that. Dash, being the complete novice that he was, simply threw the Poké Ball while it was fresh and well ready for anything. The only way anyone could catch a Pokémon was to either knock it out, or weaken it until it was safe enough to capture it. Dash rested on the ground while Lina gave him a special antidote for Poison attacks that were inflicted upon humans.

 

“Take this,” she said. “It’ll prevent the poison from spreading.”

 

Dash accepted the Antidote and took it, however he immediately gagged at how bad it tasted.

 

“Yeah, well, no one ever said medicine was tasty,” she replied.

 

“I don’t get it, why didn’t my Poké Ball capture that Weedle?” Dash asked.

 

“Because you need to weaken it first. Just because there’s a Pokémon, doesn’t mean it’s willing to go inside.”

 

“I guess,” he replied. “Any other suggestions?”

 

Lina looked around, but there wasn't anything in sight. Lina then heard the sound of crunching and looked over a nearby bush to see a small, purple, rabbit-like Pokémon with large ears with teal on the inside, a spiky back and a small horn on its head. Lina recognized it as a Nidoran and believed that it was the perfect Pokémon for Dash.

 

“Dash, how about this cutie?” Lina asked.

 

Dash got up and walked over to see the small Nidoran looking up at them curiously. He opened his Pokédex to see what this thing was.

 

“NIDORAN, MALE: THE POISON PIN POKÉMON. NIDORAN STIFFENS ITS EARS TO SENSE DANGER. THE LARGER ITS HORNS, THE MORE POWERFUL ITS SECRETED VENOM.”

 

“The last thing I need is another Poison Pokémon to stab me,” Dash replied.

 

“Oh, come on, try it out,” Lina said. “Oh, and this time, use your Bulbasaur for this one.”

 

Dash took out Bulbasaur’s Poké Ball and prepared for battle.

 

“Go, Bulbasaur!” Dash said.

 

Bulbasaur came out in front of the Nidoran and prepared to battle him. The Nidoran readied himself in response.

 

“Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!” Dash said.

 

Bulbasaur fired numerous leaves at Nidoran, striking him hard, however, it didn’t seem to do much to him. Nidoran charged forward and struck him with a back kick that knocked Bulbasaur back.

 

“It’s got a pretty strong Double Kick,” Lina said.

 

“Good, because I need a strong Pokémon like Nidoran!” he said. “Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!”

 

Bulbasaur shot his Vine Whip that wrapped around Nidoran and sent him flying into a tree. Nidoran broke free and used a Poison Sting, striking Bulbasaur, causing it to brace the attack.

 

“Hang in there, Bulbasaur!” Dash said. “Use Razor Leaf!”

 

Bulbasaur fired a number of Razor Leaves at the Nidoran, striking it hard and actually dealing some damage this time.

 

“Tackle it!” Dash said.

 

Bulbasaur charged forward and slams into it, knocking it back, making it a bit dizzy.

 

“Let’s try this now,” Dash said. “Go, Poké Ball!”

 

Dash threw his Poké Ball and brought the Nidoran inside and landed on the ground. It began to wiggle, but Dash once again ignored it.

 

“Dash, I suggest you look at what it’s doing,” Lina said. Dash looked at the wiggling Poké Ball. “It’s attempting to escape. That's why Weedle got out before. Once you hear it click, you’ve captured it.”

 

The ball continued to wiggle around until it clicked and stopped moving. Dash was excited to capture a Pokémon at last, and have his first ever capture as well.

 

“Yes, I got a Nidoran!” Dash cheered.

 

“Even I can tell you have a long way to go,” Lina replied, somewhat annoyed.

 

“Do you always have to mock me? I can’t help it if I’m new to this.”

 

Dash walked over and picked up Nidoran’s Poké Ball. Bulbasaur went over to Dash, while he pet him on the head for a job well done. He took his Poké Ball and called out his newly caught Nidoran. He squeaked a happy “Nido!” to his new friends.

 

“Nice to meet you, Nidoran,” Dash said. “I’m Dash. I’m a Pokémon Trainer.”

 

“Ni, nido” he replied happily.

 

Bulbasaur walked up to him and got into a friendly conversation with him, speaking in their native, Pokémon tongue. Dash was pleased that these two were getting along so well.

 

“So now that you have your first capture, how about we move on to Pewter City?”

 

“Sounds good to me,” Dash replied. “What do you say, guys?”

 

The two replied happily, leaving the group to travel along. They spent another couple of minutes in the forest, wondering if they were ever going to get out of it at all. They suddenly saw a large explosion in the distance, startling the group. They all rushed over to see what happened and upon arrival, they saw a small, pink Pokémon with a cat-like body with rabbit-like legs and a long tail. It turned around to show its cute cat-like face. It giggled as it floated off. Dash opened his Pokédex to check it out.

 

“NO DATA CAN BE OBTAINED!” it said.

 

Dash wondered if this thing was broken. Either that or it was a Pokémon it didn't recognize. Dash then thought that if that were true, were there Pokémon that no one knew about? Lina soon came by with Nidoran by her side and checked on Dash.

 

“What's up?” Lina asked.

 

“Nido?” Nidoran replied.

 

“See that Pokémon?” Dash asked.

 

They looked ahead and saw nothing. Dash was really confused now.

 

“What?” Lina asked.

 

“I saw a Pokémon, a pink Pokémon. My Pokédex wouldn't tell me what it is.”

 

Suddenly, an orange bug with two mushrooms on its back passed them as it fled in pure fright.

 

“Sure it wasn't that?” Lina asked.

 

“It's pink, not orange,” Dash said, taking out his Pokédex.

 

“PARAS: THE MUSHROOM POKÉMON. THE MUSHROOMS ON ITS BACK GROW BY DRAWING NUTRIENTS FROM THE BUG HOST. IT BURROWS TO SUCK TREE ROOTS FROM THE GROUND.”

 

“Stop that Pokémon!!!” someone shouted.

 

They saw a tall man with spiky, yellow hair wearing a blue jacket, army camouflage pants and sunglasses running after it. He tried to follow it, but the Pokémon ran so far off, that he just stopped.

 

“Is that thing yours?” Dash asked.

 

“Well, it was going to be mine, if my Pokémon didn’t screw it up.”

 

His Pokémon eventually approached him. It appeared to be a bipedal orange lizard with a flame on the tip of its tail.

 

“Charmander, this is your fault,” he scolded.

 

Charmander lowered his head in shame. Dash felt a bit offended that someone would treat his own Pokémon like that.

 

“Don't talk to him like that!” Dash snapped.

 

“Not my fault he failed in catching a Paras. Who cares anyway, I'd rather have someone strong than weak.”

 

Dash was really becoming annoyed with him. He had never heard anyone talk about their own Pokémon like that and acted as if they were nothing.

 

“You're wrong!” Dash shouted. “Pokémon are supposed be our friends, no matter how weak they may be!”

 

“Dash, calm down,” Lina said.

 

“You think your Pokémon are any better?” the man asked. “Well, how about a battle?”

 

“You got it!” Dash exclaimed.

 

Lina sighed at his cocky attitude. He was a fresh-out-of-the-bag trainer and he was challenging someone who could possibly be better than him.

 

“How many Pokémon do you have?” the man asked.

 

“Two right now,” Dash replied.

 

“Then two it is. Go, Nidoran!”

 

The man sent out his Nidoran, however this one was completely different than Dash's. It had purplish-blue skin with small ears, and a tiny horn, smaller than the male's. It's eyes seemed to be a brighter red than that of the male's as well.

 

"That's a Nidoran?" Dash asked.

 

Dash opened his Pokédex to see if there was any data on it.

 

"NIDORAN, FEMALE: THE POISON PIN POKÉMON. ALTHOUGH SMALL, NIDORAN'S VENOMOUS BARBS RENDER THIS POKÉMON DANGEROUS. THE FEMALE HAS SMALLER HORNS."

 

Nidoran turned her head away in offense, leaving Dash to wonder if this Pokédex was simply throwing an insult to it.

 

"Hold on," Dash said. "When the Pokédex first recorded my Nidoran, it said it was a male, but when it recorded your Nidoran, it said it was a female. Is there a difference?"

 

"Oh yeah!" he said. "Even though they're the same Pokémon, they're classed separately. Not to mention their evolutions are drastically different."

 

"Evolutions?"

 

"Man, I can't believe I'm dealing with a novice. Charmander, Nidoran, let's forget this kid and go find some more Pokémon."

 

The man walked off, infuriating Dash even more. Dash ran after him, cutting in front of him and staring at him face to face.

 

"I AM NOT WEAK!!!!" Dash shouted in his face. "I'll prove to you that I can be as good of a trainer as you are! Give me one shot!"

 

The man pondered for a bit and sighed.

 

"Whatever," he said. "Get to your positions, kid."

 

"My name is Dash!" he said, walking over to the other side. He took out a Poké Ball and prepared to battle. "Go, Nidoran!"

 

Dash sent out his male Nidoran, but upon seeing the female Nidoran, his eyes became hearts as he seemed to have fallen in love.

 

"Look at that," the man said. "Your Nidoran is in love with my Nidoran."

 

"Is there something wrong with that?!" Dash snapped.

 

"Oh...not really," he said, sarcastically.

 

Dash growled in anger as he prepared to battle.

 

"Nidoran, use Double Kick!"

 

Nidoran nervously looked back up at his trainer, while Dash was confused.

 

"What are you waiting for?!" Dash said. "Attack!"

 

The man sighed as he prepared his orders.

 

"Nidoran, use your Double Kick!" the man ordered.

 

Keiji's Nidoran charged forward and struck Dash's Nidoran repeatedly. She struck him twice and knocked him back, but Dash didn't want to embarrass himself.

 

"Nidoran, use Double Kick!" Dash ordered.

 

Nidoran looked up at his trainer again, looking even more nervous than before.

 

"What's wrong?" Dash asked. "Why aren't you attacking?!"

 

"Don't you get it?!" the man said. Dash wondered what he meant by that. "Your Nidoran is in love with my Nidoran."

 

"Wait, so that means..." Lina began.

 

"Oh yeah. Since Nidoran male is in love with Nidoran female, he wants her to love him back. Knowing this, if he ever decides to attack, he'll never get her love."

 

"Nidoran..." he said, worried about what'll happen. "You can sit this one out for now."

 

Nidoran smiled as he ran over to Dash. Dash returned him to his Poké Ball while he sent out another Pokémon.

 

"Go, Bulbasaur!" Dash said.

 

Bulbasaur came out and prepared to fight against the female Nidoran. The man sighed once more as they prepared to battle.

 

"Bulbsaur, use Razor Leaf!" Dash ordered.

 

Dash fired a Razor Leaf attack, but Nidoran simply dodged on her own, happily and playfully, as if she's mocking him.

 

"Nidoran, use Double Kick!" the man said.

 

Nidoran jumped forward and kicked Bulbasaur twice, both unleashing powerful blows. Bulbasaur was sent back a lot by the attack, but he wasn't ready to give up.

 

"Blizzard!" the man ordered.

 

Nidoran unleashed a powerful Blizzard that hit Bulbasaur and froze it completely. The man just sighed, feeling embarrassed that he's fighting a trainer who was so weak.

 

"Bulbasaur!" Dash said.

 

"This battle is done," the man said.

 

He recalled his Nidoran back to its Poké Ball and walked off. Lina went in front of him, blocking his path.

 

"Lina?" Dash said.

 

"You think you can just walk away when you won't even attempt to fight my friend?" Lina snapped. "You're such a coward!"

 

"Excuse me?" the man asked.

 

"You don't see a point in a battle and you simply walk away! Just who do you think you are, anyway?!"

 

"Me?"

 

He paused for a bit.

 

"Keiji Rensan."

 

Lina gasped in shock, knowing who he was while Dash didn't have a clue.

 

"You're...a Pokémon Master!" Lina said in shock.

 

"Pokémon Master?!" Dash said, just as surprised.

 

"I see you actually know something for once," Keiji replied.

 

"Of course. Even I know about Pokémon Masters! They're considered one of the strongest trainers by the Pokémon League."

 

"Good, and that'll be your history lesson for today, kiddies."

 

"But, I also know that Pokémon Masters are supposed to be honorable and caring for their Pokémon, so how did you become one?!"

 

Keiji simply walked off, while Dash attempted to stop him. He had no luck with that, however.

 

"You're not strong enough to know that," Keiji replied.

 

Dash growled in anger while Lina walked over and patted him on his shoulder.

 

"Just let it go," Lina said. "He's a jerk, anyway."

 

Dash clenched his hands into a fist while watching Keiji and his Pokémon head off to Pewter City, where they were heading as well. Dash was angered that such people existed in a world where they treated their own Pokémon like that.

 

“So who's Keiji?” Dash asked.

 

“Keiji is a skilled trainer with many league wins under his belt,” Lina said. “They say that he has enough strength to beat the Elite Four, who are also Pokémon Masters.”

 

“Sounds like these guys are a big deal.”

 

“They are. It's the reason many trainers from all over the world even go on a journey. To be the strongest. What I don't understand, though, is why an expert like Keiji would have two low level Pokémon on him. You'd think he'd have stronger Pokémon on him.”

 

Dash wondered about Keiji. Could he really be that strong, despite being harsh to his Pokémon? He clenched his fists and decided.

 

"I guess I have another goal to go after," Dash said. "I'll prove to him that I'm a strong trainer! I'm becoming a Pokémon Master!"

 

Lina smiled as they headed off to Pewter City, their stop for Dash's first Gym battle. Whether or not Keiji would be there, they could both be sure that they would beat the Gym Leader for sure.

  


To Be Continued!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have uploaded enough chapters to give you guys an idea of who the characters are and where the story is going. From now on, these chapters will update on Tuesdays whenever I am able.


	4. The Pewter City Museum of Science!

Episode #4: The Pewter City Museum of Science!

  
  


Dash and Lina's trip to Pewter City was now officially a long one. The two somehow managed to get themselves lost within Diglett Cave, known simply for containing Diglett, the only Pokémon that resided in here. Unfortunately, they thought this was a shortcut, and managed to get lost yet again.

 

"When will we reach Pewter City?" Lina asked.

 

"Don't ask me," Dash replied. "You're the one who wanted to come in here."

 

"Who said I wanted to come to this worthless place anyway?"

 

"'Oh, let's go through Diglett Cave! I guarantee it'll be much quicker!' Yep those were your exact words."

 

"Well, I hope we get out of here soon. I'm just exhausted with all of this walking."

 

They were suddenly greeted by a flashlight that shined upon them from behind. The light revealed a young, teenage boy with black hair tied in a ponytail with two strands coming down from the front side of his head. He was wearing a white sleeveless shirt---not to be confused with a tank-top---with black pants and a chain going down from his black belt.

 

"Are you guys lost?" the teen asked.

 

"AAAAH MY HERO!!!!" Lina said, admiring his heroism for her.

 

"Yeah, we're trying to go to Pewter City," Dash said. "Do you know of a way out of here?"

 

"Yeah, I was heading back myself from Vermilion City," the teen replied. "I was sent by someone to handle an issue over there. Why not allow me to escort you there?"

 

"Oh thank you!" Lina said.

 

While Lina's mouthing off about how much of a hero he was, Dash noticed that he seemed to have a Pokémon by his side. A brown, fox-like Pokémon with long ears, a large, cream-colored, fluffy collar around its neck and a bit of cream fur on its puffy tail. Dash opened his Pokédex to check it out.

 

"EEVEE: THE EVOLUTION POKÉMON. EEVEE HAS AN UNUSUAL GENETIC CODE. DUE TO THIS, IT WILL EVOLVE INTO ONE OF THREE KNOWN FORMS WHEN EXPOSED TO CERTAIN EVOLUTIONARY STONES."

 

"Anyway, I'll take you to Pewter City from one of the paths that I know. I'm Adam, by the way, and this is Eevee."

 

"Ee, eevee!" she replied.

 

"Thanks a bunch," Dash replied. "I'm Dash."

 

"I'm Lina," Lina replied.

 

The three headed off through Diglett Cave and took a quick path like Adam said they would. It wouldn't take them long until they would reach Pewter City, the Stone Gray City, as some called it. Lina fell to her knees in relief.

 

"Finally!" she said. "I thought we would never get out of there!"

 

“ Thanks so much, Adam,” Dash said.

 

“ Don't mention it. I'll see you guys later, I guess,” Adam replied.

 

Eevee gave them her farewell as well, leaving the two to head off on their own. Dash's main goal now was to find the Pewter City Gym Leader, Brock. They made their way to the Gym, which they saw in the distance, shaped like a giant rock. They made their way into the city, while Dash was excited for his first attempt at a Gym Badge.

 

Unfortunately for Dash and Lina, the Gym itself was closed. There was a single sign on the door that stated that Brock, the gym leader, was at the Pewter Museum of Science. This disappointed Dash, but infuriated Lina, who wasted her time traveling here so she could find out the Gym's closed.

 

“ IS HE SERIOUS?!?!?!” she snapped.

 

“ I guess we could come back later?” Dash asked.

 

“ I say we go to this Museum and bring this Brock person to the gym!”

 

“ I don't know if we should....”

 

Before Dash could continue, he was grabbed by Lina as they both ran towards the Pewter Museum of Science, where Brock might be found at. Whether or not he'll be there before they get there was uncertain to them.

 

 

* * *

 

The Pewter City Museum of Science was well known for its ancient Pokémon fossils. Their numerous exhibits were one of the reasons so many visited Pewter City in the first place. Dash and Lina were continuously walking through the museum, looking at the attractions, as well as looking for Brock. Lina saw a peculiar Pokémon skeleton that looked similar to a Pteranodon. It had a long tail and a large jaw. It was just a skeleton, though.

 

"Hey Dash, check this guy out," she said.

 

Dash walked over and saw the Pokémon fossil that was labeled Aerodactyl. Dash opened his Pokédex to see what it said about it.

 

"AERODACTYL: THE FOSSIL POKÉMON. AERODACTYL WAS A FEROCIOUS POKÉMON IN PREHISTORIC TIMES THAT WOULD GO FOR THE THROAT OF ITS PREY WITH ITS SAW-LIKE FANGS."

 

"Excuse me," someone said.

 

Dash looked over to see a security guard in a white uniform that seems to have a familiar face (and Pokémon).

 

"We don't allow electronics here, I'm afraid," he said. "I must ask you to...Hold on, I know you two!"

 

"Adam?!" Dash said, surprised.

 

It was, indeed, Adam, with his trusty Eevee. They didn't know that he worked at the museum at all, and they were completely surprised by this.

 

"I didn't know you worked here!" Dash said.

 

"Well...I guess it's a small world after all. I work part time here as a security guard, so it's my job---"

 

He looked down at Eevee, who seemed to be offended.

 

"---or rather, our job...to make sure no one causes any trouble."

 

Eevee smiles once more, happy that he acknowledged her existence.

 

"So you have to understand why we don't allow electronic devices here. It's nice that you came, though.

 

"Have you seen Brock anywhere at all?" Dash asked.

 

"Sure, he's in the back, looking at an old Omanyte Fossil."

 

Lina went past Adam as she looked for Brock. She finally saw him; the brown, spiky haired man wearing a simple white T-Shirt and blue jeans to his name. He seemed to have very squinty eyes as well, almost as if they were closed. Lina went near him as she prepared to tell him a thing or two.

 

"Hey, would you mind explaining about your Gym being closed so you can look at some stupid fossil?!" she asked.

 

Brock remained silent.

 

"Hello, I'm talking to you!"

 

Brock still didn't respond. Lina was annoyed even more than she was before.

 

"You want a Gym Battle, right?" Brock finally said.

 

Lina looked up at him, realizing that he finally noticed her.

 

"There's a bit of an issue here that I need to attend to...about a Pokémon that is undiscovered."

 

"An undiscovered Pokémon?" Dash asked, approaching them.

 

"They say it's a Pokémon that has long since existed since the creation of earth," Adam chimed in, "but no one has managed to find it. They call it NoNumber, since they didn't list it in any Pokédex listing."

 

"NoNumber," Dash wondered.

 

Dash found it unusual that a Pokémon was undiscovered when he thought everyone discovered all of them.

 

"They say there's more than just NoNumber," Brock said. "Our researchers are looking for more species. We know that there's more than 150 Pokémon in this world!"

 

Dash wondered just exactly how many Pokémon actually exist. Before they could say anything else, a man wearing a similar uniform as Adam came over to them. He had the security outfit, but his was white and he seemed to be old as well---he even had the same squinty eyes as Brock.

 

“ I'm sorry to interrupt you all,” he said, “but I'm in need of assistance.”

 

“ What's the matter?" Adam asked.

 

"We've just received a photograph from one of our sources, and we need some confirmation.”

 

“ Will do.”

 

Adam and the guard headed off into one of the rooms, but Dash tried to stop them.

 

“ Can I come?” he asked.

 

“ I'm sorry, but with Team Rocket after us, we can't afford to have anyone else inside,” Adam said. “Please try to understand.”

 

Dash was a little disappointed that he wasn't going to help them anytime soon. Brock walked off while Dash attempted to follow him.

 

“ I'm heading out, if you want to come by the Gym, then you're welcome to come by later.”

 

Dash wanted his Gym Battle, but he had a feeling that he knew what this mysterious NoNumber was. He went towards the security office and opened the door.

 

“ Excuse me?” Dash asked.

 

“ You're not allowed in here right now,” Adam said. "I'm sorry."

 

“ Eevee,” his Pokémon replied.

 

“ But...It's about NoNumber. I think I might have seen it.”

 

They both stopped what they were doing and looked at him surprised.

 

“ You know what it is?!” the guard asked.

 

“ Can I see the picture?” Dash asked.

 

They showed him the computer screen and sure enough, it was the mysterious Pokémon. It wasn't complete, though. It was purely black and white with a silhouette of the Pokémon in question. It was cat-like with a long, thin tail. That was all they could make out from that picture.

 

“ That's the Pokémon I saw!” Dash said.

 

“ Please, you must tell us all that you know!” the guard said.

 

Dash sighed nervously.

 

“ I'm afraid the sighting is all I know,” he said.

 

Adam and the security guard were both disappointed.

 

"Hey, John," Adam asked the security guard. "What did this Team Rocket want with NoNumber anyway?"

 

"They didn't say," John replied. "They said they wanted the info on it, but that's about it."

 

Dash wondered who this Team Rocket was exactly. He had been hearing their name constantly, but he had no clue who they were.

 

"Who is Team Rocket anyway?" Dash asked.

 

"They're an organization that involves stealing Pokémon from other trainers," John said, "and using them for their sick and twisted experiments."

 

"They say that their leader is a well known Gym Leader," Adam said, "but that's just a rumor."

 

Dash still remembered his battle with Durrell at the Viridian Gym and wondered if he was the leader. He soon dismissed that when he remembered that he was substituting for another Gym Leader. He wondered who this Gym Leader was, and whether or not he was really this sinister and evil. Suddenly they saw smoke coming in through the museum and looked through the glass to see what was happening.

 

"What is that?!" Dash asked.

 

"Team Rocket's here!" Adam said.

 

"I suggest you kids get out of here," John said. "You too, Adam!"

 

"But why?" Adam asked.

 

"I want to protect this museum from those Team Rocket members, and I don't want any of you to be put in danger. I didn't want to say anything, but there's one bit of information that they cannot get."

 

"What kind of information?!"

 

"I wasn't sure it was legit until I saw the photo of NoNumber, but now that we have confirmation from Dash, go into the basement room and take out a crate titled number 151."

 

"Number 151?"

 

"Trust me, it'll have what we need to know. Under no circumstances should they get that! NOW GO!!!"

 

John busted into the room while the smoke engulfed the room.

 

"Dash, let's move!" Adam said.

 

Adam pulled Dash's hand and escaped through the back door into the storage hall. They hoped that John would be all right inside and hoped that they could get the information safely.

 

"He'll be fine,” Adam said, “but right now we have to get to that storage area. I know exactly which area he's talking about too!"

 

They turned the corner, but just then, a large, orange, rat-like Pokémon suddenly attacked Adam as it sent him to the ground. The large rat attempted to bite him, but his Eevee tackled the Pokémon, sending it back.

 

“ What is that thing?” Dash asked.

 

He took out his Pokédex to check it out, while it continued to battle with Eevee.

 

“ RATICATE, THE MOUSE POKÉMON; THE EVOLVED FORM OF RATTATA. RATICATE USES ITS WHISKERS TO MAINTAIN BALANCE, AND WILL SLOW DOWN SHOULD THEY BE CUT OFF. IT USES ITS SHARP FANGS TO CUT THROUGH ANYTHING.”

 

“ I see you’re interested in my Pokémon,” someone said as they turned the corner to face them.

 

They saw a young woman wearing a Team Rocket uniform, but she simply had long brown hair; no beret or anything. She smiled as her Raticate went over and rubbed her knee.

 

“ You’re doing a good job my sweet Raticate,” she said pleasantly.

 

Raticate twitched his right leg as her trainer rubbed her head softly.

 

“ Who are you?” Dash asked.

 

“ Wouldn’t you like to know,” the woman said. “Whatever. My name is Yuka. I’m a Team Rocket Commander!”

 

“ So you work for Team Rocket as well.”

 

“ Yeah, and we came for that data on NoNumber!”

 

“ You’re not getting it!”

 

“ Well, aren’t you a naïve little boy.”

 

Dash and Adam both wondered what she meant by that, but they really didn’t’ like the tone of her voice.

 

“ Raticate, Hyper Fang!” Yuka ordered.

 

Raticate charged forward and attacked Eevee with a powerful crunch of its buckteeth. Eevee screamed in pain as she tried to shake it off.

 

“ Nidoran, use Poison Sting!” Dash said.

 

Dash sent out his Nidoran and struck Raticate with a Poison Sting attack, knocking it off of Eevee. Eevee slowly got up and prepared to strike back.

 

“ Eevee, use Quick Attack!” Adam ordered.

 

Eevee struck Raticate with blinding speed as it sent her back a bit.

 

“ Raticate, use Focus Energy!” Yuka ordered.

 

Raticate powered itself up, while Dash attacked while its guard was down.

 

“ Nidoran, use Double Kick!” Dash ordered.

 

Nidoran charged forward, striking Raticate with two powerful kicks. Raticate finished powering up as it prepared to go again.

 

“ Raticate, use Super Fang!”

 

Raticate chomped down on Nidoran’s body, but upon contact, it seemed to be poisoned by its body. Raticate jumped off and rubbed its buckteeth, noticing the pain that Nidoran produced.

 

“ You dirty brat!” Yuka said. “Raticate, use…”

 

Before she could continue, she got a phone call in the middle of the battle. She took out her phone and answered it.

 

“ You have the nerve to call me in the middle of the battle?!” she said in anger.

 

“ Quick,” Adam whispered into Dash’s ear. “Attack it while her guard is down!”

 

“ Is that right?” she said in a more pleased tone. “It seems you boys do have a good use.”

 

“ Nidoran, Double Kick!” Dash ordered.

 

“ Raticate, Hyper Fang!” Yuka said.

 

The two Pokémon unleashed their attacks upon each other while Yuka tried to end her conversation as quick as possible.

 

“ Anyway, I’ll be right there. Bye.”

 

She hung up and took out a smoke bomb and shot it in between Nidoran and Raticate, covering the entire hall with smoke.

 

“ Tough break, but we have what we need,” Yuka said. “Let’s go, Raticate!”

 

“ Ratta!” it said.

 

Adam and Dash were encased with too much smoke to move at all. They could hardly breathe, and so could their Pokémon. The smoke faded, leaving Yuka and Raticate to be found missing.

 

“ She’s gone,” Dash said.

 

“ That dirty woman!” Adam said. “Bah, that doesn’t matter! We need to make sure that the info on NoNumber is safe.”

 

Adam and Dash continued onward to the basement storage area. Once they arrived, they saw boxes stacked on hundreds of shelves. Dash wondered what could be inside all of them, while Adam just wanted to know where the NoNumber box was.

 

“ It should say Number 151 on it,” Adam said. “Search around!”

 

Dash and Nidoran went in another direction while Adam and Eevee searched close by. There were about a hundred boxes strewn about, but none of which contained NoNumber’s information. That was until…

 

“ I found it!” Dash called out to Adam.

 

Adam and Eevee rushed over to the other end to see what Dash had found. It was a big, black case with the number 151 on it. It was definitely NoNumber’s box. They both prepared to open it up, but once they did, they were shocked at what they saw.

 

“ This can’t be!” Adam said.

 

The box was completely empty, save for one tiny note that said “Nice try, losers,” signed by none other than Yuka herself. Adam was angry that they had to go through all of this, only to find out that they managed to find it first.

 

“ How?” he said. “How could they have gotten this?!”

 

“ We should tell John about what happened,” Dash said.

 

“ Nido,” Nidoran said, agreeing with him.

 

Eevee felt bad for her trainer as well. Adam got up and took the note with him. He wasn’t going to like what he was going to tell him, but it was better than hiding it.

 

 

* * *

 

Once they were back upstairs and everything was taken care of, Adam and Dash were talking with John about what they discovered with NoNumber’s information. They noticed on the back of the sheet that it was marked “1:30 PM,” a full hour before the attacks were made.

 

“ I can’t believe we were tricked all this time,” John said.

 

“ I have a feeling this was their way of telling us that they stole it,” Adam said. “And we never knew about it.”

 

“ Ee, eevee,” Eevee said.

 

“ Well, I suppose there’s nothing we can do now. Though I must ask what their motives are with NoNumber. Just what is it that they’re after?”

 

Dash wondered that as well. What was this NoNumber, and why did they want it anyway?

 

“ If it’s alright with you, I’d like to search for that answer!” Adam said.

 

“ You mean…” John said.

 

“ Yeah, I want to find out what this Team Rocket is up to! I promise you that I’ll discover that NoNumber Pokémon for you!”

 

John felt that it was honorable for him to help a friend in a time of need.

 

“ You should join me and Lina!” Dash said. “We’re on a bit of a journey as well. And I’m willing to learn all I can about this NoNumber Pokémon!”

 

Adam smiled. He felt that he could fully trust Dash and Lina and felt that he would be a huge asset to the team.

 

“ Don’t forget your Gym Battle with Brock,” Adam said.

 

“ Oh, I forgot about that!” Dash said, rushing out of the museum.

 

Adam decided to follow him, while John smiled at them, hoping that they would do well. With Dash’s new friend, he knew he would go farther than he had ever gone before. He needed all the help he could get to obtain his first Pokémon League badge.

  
  


To Be Continued!


	5. Dash's First Gym Battle!

Episode #5: Dash's First Gym Battle!

  
  


Dash was dreaming about a championship battle with a mysterious, silhouetted trainer for the title of Pokémon Master.

 

“ Go, Bulbasaur!” Dash said. “Razor Leaf!”

 

Bulbasaur fired a Razor Leaf attack at a mighty Rhydon as the attack affected it greatly.

 

“ All right, it’s time for the finishing blow! Use…”

 

Before he could continue, a powerful surge of water came towards him and Bulbasaur. The Rhydon vanished while both of them were helpless.

 

“ BULBASAUR!!!!” Dash shouted.

 

Dash was suddenly sprayed with a stream of water, waking him up and jolting him out of the Pokémon Center's bed.

 

“ No, Bulbasaur!” he shouted in fear.

 

It didn’t take him long to realize he was awake inside of a room in the neighborhood Pokémon Center, a rest stop for many trainers. He looked to his left to see Lina holding a blue turtle-like Pokémon with an orange shell and pink eyes. Lina just giggled as Dash brushed the water off of him.

 

“ I see my Squirtle decided to wake you up herself, Mr. Chatty Boy.”

 

“ I…I guess I was talking in my sleep?” Dash asked, taking out his Pokédex.

 

“ Yes, and it was somewhat amusing, since you mentioned about Bulbasaur and Nidoran pulling down your pants at one point.”

 

Dash felt embarrassed that she even heard him saying that. Dash opened his Pokédex and registered Squirtle.

 

“ SQUIRTLE: THE TINY TURTLE POKÉMON. SQUIRTLE’S BACK SWELLS AND HARDENS INTO A SHELL AFTER BIRTH. IT IS KNOWN TO SPRAY A POWERFUL FOAM FROM ITS MOUTH.”

 

“ I’m assuming that Squirtle is yours?” Dash asked.

 

“ Yep,” Lina replied. “She’s a cutie, isn’t she?”

 

“ Squirtle, squirt!” she replied.

 

Dash sighed as he took out both of his Poké Balls to see what he was up against.

 

"Okay," Dash said. "Since Brock trains Rock Pokémon from what I heard, I should be fine."

 

"Not really," Lina replied. "Nidoran's a Poison Type, and since Brock's two Pokémon are part Ground, you'll have a bit of difficulty."

 

"Yeah...Bulbasaur's a Poison type, too."

 

"Well, he does have Grass Type characteristics, so he should do fine, especially since Grass attacks would destroy Brock's Pokémon."

 

"Well, I guess it's time to go."

 

Dash took his things and headed out to the Gym, which wasn't too far off from the Pokémon Center. Dash could only hope that he would do well against the mighty Brock.

 

\----------------------------------------

 

They soon arrived at the Pewter City Gym, the large, rock-like building that housed the city's top trainer, Brock. Upon arrival, they saw a familiar face and a familiar Pokémon.

 

"It's Adam!" Dash said.

 

Adam and his Eevee were sitting outside of the gym entrance, waiting for who they believed to be Brock. Adam noticed them and went over to them with his Eevee following.

 

"Hey, what's up?" Adam asked.

 

"Not much," Dash replied. "Why were you sitting out here?"

 

"Well...Brock's in the back room, preparing for your battle. I can't let anyone in until he's ready."

 

"So we have to wait even longer?" Dash asked.

 

"Not really, Brock should be done in a few. Until then, we could just chat a little."

 

"So what's a man like you doing with Brock?" Lina asked.

 

"Oh, me?" Adam asked nervously. "Well...I guess I should explain myself then."

 

He went on to say that he worked not only part time at the Museum, but he was also a referee for Brock. He also stated that Gym Leader reffing ran in his blood, since he was related to another Gym Leader.

 

"Who is it?" Dash asked.

 

"I won't tell," Adam said. "If I told you, she'd hurt me for life."

 

"So it's a girl?"

 

Adam freaked out, telling him more information than he should.

 

"Okay, it's a girl, but that's all I'm saying!"

 

The red light popped up above the gym, signaling to Adam that Brock was ready.

 

"Well," Adam began, "I wish you the best of luck."

 

The group went inside and saw a humongous field filled with rocks and boulders. Dash was amazed at the structure of the gym arena. He saw Brock on the other end, simply wearing gray jeans, exposing his manly chest.

 

"Those are some set of pecs," Lina said.

 

“Must be from training Rock Pokémon all the time,” Dash replied.

 

"Dash," Brock said. "I've been waiting for you. Please step forward so I can battle you!"

 

Dash progressed forward while Adam went to the other side to prepared for the battle. Dash was nervous since he seemed like a strong trainer.

 

"Okay," Adam said. "The battle between Brock, the leader of the Pewter City Gym, and Dash Ryuujin from Pallet Town will now begin! Both trainers will use two Pokémon each. Whoever knocks out their opponent's Pokémon first, wins!"

 

"You ready for this?" Brock asked, smiling.

 

Dash needed to be sure that his Pokémon were up to the task of battling him.

 

"Begin!" Adam said, raising his flags, with his Eevee mimicking him.

 

"Eevee!" his Pokémon said.

 

"Go, Geodude!" Brock called out.

 

Brock sent out his Geodude, the large, Rock Pokémon with two arms and a face on its round, rock-like body, to battle against whatever Dash was willing to send out. Dash opened his Pokédex to see what it was.

 

"GEODUDE: THE ROCK POKÉMON. GEODUDE OFTEN LIVE IN FIELDS AND MOUNTAINS. PEOPLE OFTEN STEP ON THEM, OR TRIP OVER THEM, MISTAKING THEM FOR BOULDERS."

 

Dash hoped for the best and prepared to send out his first Pokémon.

 

"Go, Nidoran!" he said.

 

Dash's Nidoran came out and prepared to face off against the powerful Geodude. Lina could only hope that Nidoran was up to battling Geodude, and more importantly, Bulbasaur.

 

"Go, Nidoran," Dash said. "Use Poison Sting!"

 

Nidoran fired a Poison Sting attack, but Geodude wasn't being affected by it at all.

 

"Use Rock Throw!" Brock said.

 

Geodude picked up part of the ground below him and slammed Nidoran hard with the powerful strike. Nidoran shook it off, but felt a lot of pain.

 

"Double-Edge!" Brock ordered.

 

Geodude began to glow and rolled straight towards Nidoran, who prepared to strike back.

 

"Nidoran, use Double Kick!"

 

Nidoran struck back with a Double Kick attack, but it barely hit him and was instead hit by the Double Edge attack.

 

"Nidoran!" Dash said, worryingly.

 

Nidoran slowly got up, but he seemed to be in a lot of pain. Dash only wondered how long he could hold on for.

 

"Rock Throw, once more!" Brock ordered.

 

Geodude picked up a piece of the ground once more and prepared to strike Nidoran hard.

 

"Double Kick!" Dash ordered.

 

Nidoran struck with a Double Kick attack, breaking the rocks, but making him fall over.

 

"Double-Edge, again!"

 

"Nidoran, dodge it and use Double Kick!"

 

Geodude rolled towards Nidoran, who managed to get out of the way and strike Geodude with a Double Kick attack, disorienting him.

 

“ Good job, Nidoran!” Dash said.

 

“ Don’t think you’re out of it yet,” Brock said. “Use Earthquake!”

 

Geodude pounded the ground hard enough so that he shot a shockwave of energy that sent Nidoran into the ground. Nidoran was then, unable to battle.

 

“ Nidoran is unable to battle!” Adam said, raising his red flag to Brock’s side, with his Eevee mimicking him. “Geodude is the winner!”

 

Geodude was wearing out, but Dash needed to rely on Bulbasaur in order to get him out of this mess. He called his Nidoran back and took out his remaining Poké Ball,  preparing to end this.

 

“ Go, Bulbasaur!” Dash said.

 

Bulbasaur came out and landed on the field, but once he did, he began to get a little nervous again.

 

“ Bulbasaur?” Dash asked.

 

“ I don’t believe it,” Lina said. “Even to a Geodude?!”

 

“ Your Bulbasaur seems to be worried,” Brock said. “Not that it makes much of a difference.”

 

“ Begin!” Adam said, raising his flags with Eevee following suit.

 

“ Geodude, use Rock Throw!” Brock ordered.

 

Geodude lifted the ground again and struck Bulbasaur, who was too scared to move. Dash didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he needed to get him out of his fear before it was too late.

 

“ Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!” Dash ordered.

 

Bulbasaur hesitantly released his Vine Whip as it wrapped around Geodude.

 

“ Swing him!” Brock ordered.

 

Geodude began to swing him around as he sent Bulbasaur into the air. Dash didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, he got an idea.

 

“ Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!”

 

Bulbasaur fired a Razor Leaf that struck Geodude and released Bulbasaur, sending him against the wall. Dash didn’t like the outcome of his plan, but he at least knocked Geodude out.

 

“ Geodude is unable to battle!” Adam said, raising his green flag to Dash’s side, with his Eevee mimicking him. “Bulbasaur is the winner!”

 

“ Good work, Bulbasaur!” Dash said.

 

Bulbasaur sighed in relief, knowing that it was finally over, but Dash knew that it wasn’t the end. Brock suddenly smiled, giving Dash the thought that he had something stronger up his sleeve.

 

“ Are you ready to deal with my strongest?” Brock asked.

 

Adam was curious about Bulbasaur as he watched him battle Geodude. He had never seen a Grass Pokémon so afraid of Rock Types before. He wondered what could be wrong with him.

 

“ Go, Onix!” Brock said.

 

Brock sent out his final Pokémon, but this one seemed to amaze Dash, but it also frightened Bulbasaur. The mighty Pokémon was a gigantic rock snake that towered over everyone in the room, and had a large, flat spike on its head. Dash opened his Pokédex to check it out.

 

“ That’s a Pokémon?!” Dash said.

 

“ ONIX: THE ROCK SNAKE POKÉMON. AS IT GROWS, ONIX’S SKIN BECOMES A SIMILAR HARDNESS TO DIAMONDS. HOWEVER, THESE ROCKS WILL TURN BLACK.”

 

“ Bulbasaur, are you ready?” Dash asked.

 

Dash saw Bulbasaur, just standing there, frightened at the large Rock Pokémon in front of him.

 

“ I don’t understand! ” Dash thought. “ Why is he so afraid of rock Pokémon?! ”

 

Dash couldn’t understand why Bulbasaur was scared stiff towards Onix. It was a fierce Pokémon, as Dash could see, but being a Grass Pokémon, he should have no problem with it.

 

“ Begin!” Adam said, raising his flags with Eevee mimicking him once again.

 

“ Onix, use Slam!” Brock ordered.

 

Onix charged forward and slammed into Bulbasaur, knocking him against a wall as he landed on the ground.

 

“ Bind attack!” Brock ordered.

 

“ Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf! Hurry!”

 

Onix shot his tail towards Bulbasaur and wrapped around the small Pokémon. Bulbasaur screamed in pain as he tried to break free.

 

“ Bulbasaur!” Dash said. “ I don’t get it! Why is he like this?! He was never this way before…wait…what if… ”

 

Dash remembered how Bulbasaur lost someone close to him, but he didn’t know how it happened. He seemed to come to the conclusion that whatever happened, some sort of Rock Pokémon was involved. He didn’t know what it was, but some Rock Pokémon forced him to fear other Rock Pokémon, no matter what it was.

 

“ Bulbasaur, I need you to be brave!” Dash said. “I know you’re afraid of Rock Pokémon! But I’m willing to fight that fear away for you!”

 

“ Throw him!” Brock ordered.

 

Onix threw him away, knocking him against the wall once more. This time, it seemed like Bulbasaur was finished.

 

“ Bulbasaur!” Dash cried. “Please, get up!”

 

Adam wanted to make sure that Bulbasaur was completely out before he made his move. Bulbasaur didn’t want it to end like this, and neither did Dash.

 

“ Bulbasaur, please get up!” Dash cried. “Don’t let your fear get the best of you! I know you’re strong enough to defeat Onix. BULBASAUR, PLEASE GET UP!!!”

 

Bulbasaur still wasn’t moving though. Adam felt bad that Dash didn’t win his battle.

 

“ Poor Dash, ” Adam thought. He turned towards the field and made his call. “Bulbasaur is unable to battle! Onix is---“

 

“ BULBAAAAAAAA!!!” Bulbasaur shouted.

 

Everyone looked back and saw Bulbasaur still standing, looking as determined to fight as ever. Regardless, he was still shaking, as Adam could saw.

 

“ The match will continue!” Adam said.

 

“ Fine then,” Brock said. “Slam, Onix!”

 

“ Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!” Dash ordered.

 

Bulbasaur fired a Razor Leaf attack that struck Onix and knocked its head back a bit. Bulbasaur just kept firing until Onix slammed the ground with its tail and caused him to stop and fall to the ground.

 

“ Onix, Bind again!” Brock said.

 

“ Leech Seed!” Dash ordered.

 

Bulbasaur fired a brown seed as it encased Onix completely with the vines that sprout from the seed itself. Onix could feel a hard pain as it felt the energy retreating into Bulbasaur.

 

“ I can only hope that Leech Seed will give Bulbasaur enough strength to get back into it, ” Dash thought. “Razor Leaf!”

 

“ Use Bide!” Brock ordered.

 

Bulbasaur fired a Razor Leaf attack while Onix began to glow a dark red, taking each and every hit the Razor Leaf had to offer.

 

“ I hope Dash isn’t relying on dumb luck ,” Adam thought. “ Bide is an attack that takes all the damage it took and fire it back with double the force. ”

 

“ Keep firing!” Dash ordered.

 

Bulbasaur kept firing at the mighty Onix, until it was time.

 

“ Launch it!” Brock ordered.

 

Onix fired a powerful beam that struck Bulbasaur hard and forced it into the ground. The smoke from the attack quickly cleared as Bulbasaur, once again, was in a weak position. Bulbasaur slowly got up, nearly ready to faint from exhaustion.

 

“ Bulbasaur can’t take it anymore, ” Dash thought. “ I have to think of something to turn this around. ”

 

Onix was nearly out of it as well. Brock also needed to do something in order to turn this battle around.

 

“ Onix, finish it with Slam!” Brock ordered.

 

“ Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!” Dash ordered.

 

Onix slammed into Bulbasaur, which caused it to shoot a Razor Leaf attack and hit it hard, sending it back and onto the ground. Bulbasaur was finished, but it had to say up for the sake of his trainer. Onix struggled to get up, but even it was too weak to battle. It eventually fell to the ground, unable to battle. Adam and Brock were both amazed at the stamina Bulbasaur had.

 

“ I guess the will of his trainer pushed him ahead. ” Adam thought. He raised his green flag to Dash’s side, while Eevee mimicked him for the final time. “Onix is unable to battle. Bulbasaur wins! The victory goes to Dash Ryuujin of Pallet Town!”

 

Dash was amazed that he managed to win a gym battle as a new trainer. He cheered in excitement and ran over to Bulbasaur, who seemed to be resting on the ground. Dash saw this and slowly lifted him into his arms. Dash could hear him breathing softly, knowing full well that he was asleep.

 

“ Bulbasaur,” Dash said softly.

 

He took his Poké Ball and returned him to safety. Brock went over and tapped him on the back.

 

“ I have to say,” Brock said. “I’ve never seen a battle turn out like that before.”

 

“ Yeah…but I don’t think Bulbasaur is out of his fear stage yet.”

 

“ Regardless, you won that battle fair and square.”

 

He dug into his pocket and took out a silver octagon that bore a strong resemblance to a rock. He placed it in Dash’s hands.

 

“ This is the Boulder Badge,” Brock began. “It’s your reward for beating me in a Gym Battle. You need seven more in order to enter the Pokémon League.”

 

Dash was excited to win his first ever Pokémon League badge. Lina and Adam were both excited as well. He couldn’t have done it without Bulbasaur’s bravery. He still had a long way to go with him, though.

 

\----------------------------------

 

Dash and Lina both decided to head off to Cerulean City, which had the closest Gym to where they were now. As they began to head off, they heard someone call out to them. They turned to see Adam and his Eevee heading over to them. Dash almost forgot that he was coming with them to search for NoNumber with him.

 

“ Sorry I’m…late,” he said, breathing his lungs out.

 

He and his Eevee were both exhausted as they just came from the museum all the way to the exit to Route 3 and Mt. Moon.

 

“ Well, shall we go?” Dash asked.

 

They suddenly heard a loud crash that came from Mt. Moon itself. They saw a large puff of smoke and a large hole in the mountain.

 

“ What was that?” Lina asked.

 

Dash ran off without much of a word. They all attempted to follow him as they headed off to Mt. Moon, where they would be one step closer to reaching Cerulean City, which was on the other end of the mountain. Dash’s journey was moving smoothly, but this new crisis might hold him off for just a little longer.

  
  


To Be Continued!


	6. Chaos at Mt. Moon!

Episode #6: Chaos at Mt. Moon!

  
  


Upon hearing the crash at Mt. Moon, the gang continued to rush towards the mountain itself. They didn’t know what it was, but they felt that it was an explosion that occurred inside of the mountain. What it was, though, they were still trying to figure out. Adam suddenly saw something nearby and sent Dash and Lina to the ground nearby.

 

“ Adam, wha---“ Dash began.

 

Adam quickly shushed him as he pointed to the bushes on the other end. More specifically, he was pointing to what was behind those bushes. They snuck over to see a Team Rocket grunt speaking with Durrell, wearing his Team Rocket uniform. Dash was surprised to see them here, but he wondered what they're up to.

 

“ It’s Team Rocket,” Dash whispered.

 

“ What’re they doing here?” Lina whispered as well.

 

Dash could hear them talking about something called a Clefairy. The two rocket members turned to the mountain to see the smoke coming out of the mountain.

 

“ I assume that was their spaceship?” the grunt asked.

 

“ There’s nothing to doubt that,” Durrell said. “We predicted that the Clefairy and Clefable would land on Mount Moon today at exactly this time, so we'd better round them up while we can!”

 

“ I’ll notify Yuka.”

 

Dash wondered what they meant by a spaceship. The two Rocket members went inside of their black van and drove towards the mountain. They stood up and watched the van disappear into the distance.

 

“ A spaceship?” Adam asked.

 

“ They mentioned that Clefairy and Clefable were inside,” Lina said. “Is that even possible?”

 

“ What’s possible?” Dash asked.

 

“ There’s been a ongoing theory of how Pokémon came into our world. There have been rumors that they came by a spaceship. So do you think that Pokémon are smart enough to even operate one?!”

 

Dash wondered if this was really possible. Would a Clefairy and Clefable group have enough knowledge to power a spaceship. The thought really made the three wonder.

 

"I say we find this spaceship before Team Rocket does!" Dash said.

 

They all agreed on the idea and set off in search of the Pokémon space ship inside of Mt Moon. They were still wondering why Team Rocket was nearby, but they knew that they were up to no good as usual.

 

\---------------------------------------

 

Once Durrell and the Rocket Grunt arrived at the entrance to Mt. Moon, they went inside to approach the large Moon Stone inside. It was rumored that it was a giant meteor that fell into the mountain from above, but they knew it would be useful for their plan.

 

“ So this Moon Stone is supposed to be really valuable, right?” the grunt said.

 

“ Yes,” Durrell replied. “It’s seems to have special powers that many trainers would look for. If we can manage to take a bunch of that humongous rock, we could be rich!”

 

“ There are stories that Pokémon evolve using the Moon Stone, like the Clefairy themselves.”

 

“ Even more of a reason take it for ourselves.”

 

They soon arrived in the center where the humongous meteor rested perfectly inside the center. There were many tales of how this meteor came into the center of the mountain, but it was still a mystery for them.

 

“ Do you know where Yuka is now?” the grunt asked.

 

Durrell wondered that as well. Yuka told him that she would be there long before Durrell and his partner even got to the center, but he wondered how she was doing now. Durrell flipped his phone open and prepared to talk to his partner.

 

“ Hello? ” Yuka asked on the other end.

 

“ It’s Durrell,” he said. “Where are you now?”

 

“ Far above where you are, probably. I’m only up here to see where this spaceship was and I wanted to round up some of the Clefairy and Clefable. ”

 

“ Would you wait for me next time?!” Durrell growled.

 

“ Hey, I waited at  least an hour before you got here, so don’t complain to me! Anyway, I’m almost up there, so if you want to come, then follow the one path in front of you. Thanks, buh-bye! ”

 

“ Yuka…”

 

She immediately hung up, leaving Durrell somewhat annoyed with her.

 

“ I hate that woman!” he growled.

 

“ Where is she?” the grunt asked.

 

“ At the top of the freaking mountain,” Durrell replied. “We’re ignoring this thing for now and heading up the mountain ourselves. Come on.”

 

Durrell began his long trek up to the top of the mountain, while his fellow grunt followed him. Minutes later, Dash and the others arrived to witness the gigantic meteor in the center. They looked up as they saw that it reached the top of the mountain.

 

"Unbelievable!" Dash said.

 

"I heard about this meteor," Adam said. "It's said to have existed before humans were even born."

 

"It seems like most of it was taken apart."

 

Lina and Adam noticed it, too. It was almost as if bites were taken out of them. They wondered why those were even on the meteor.

 

"What exactly is that thing?" Lina asked.

 

Dash noticed something and looked on one of the upper pathways to see Durrell and his rocket grunt looking right at them. Adam and Lina noticed it as well, just as Durrell began to walk away.

 

"Come on, guys," Dash said. "We have to make it to the top!"

 

They went onward to follow Team Rocket to wherever the spaceship landed. They could only hope that they helped get the Pokémon there to safety.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Yuka and her two grunts finally arrived at the main crash site of the mountain range. They entered to see a tiny UFO-like spaceship in the corner and noticed that multiple Pokémon were nearby. One group consisted of pink, round fairy-like Pokémon with brown-tipped ears, small wings on their backs, curled tails and tufts of hair, while the other group of Pokémon were larger than the regular Clefairy and had more developed wings, though they didn't seem to be flight enabled like their pre-evolution. Yuka smiled as she and her grunts snuck forward.

 

"All right, is the rocket ready?" Yuka whispered.

 

Yuka wore a gray Team Rocket uniform with an open vest with an R on the back. She had long, brown hair and wore a black eye mask over her face. She was one of the two top executives alongside her partner Durrell.

 

One of the grunts nodded in response and aimed the rocket at the Clefairy and Clefable duo as they all noticed them. The grunt fired the rocket as it captured every one of them. The Clefairy and Clefable cried as they struggled to escape.

 

"YES!!!!" she cheered. "We finally got ourselves a capture!"

 

"Good, but could you have waited for us?" someone nearby asked.

 

Yuka turned around to see Durrell and his fellow grunts entering from the entrance nearby. He wasn't pleased that his partner went on without him and his teammate.

 

"So you finally came?" Yuka asked.

 

"You're starting to get on my nerves, Yuka," Durrell said.

 

"Oh, you're just jealous that I'm eager to catch these things before you."

 

"That's not worth being happy about. The boss told us to go together. Once he gets wind of this..."

 

"Oh, he won't know about this. Not as long as we have those two Pokémon groups behind us. I mean, who would have guessed that they're mere Clefairy and Clefable. And to think, we actually discovered species different from Pokémon!"

 

The Clefairy and Clefable were angry at the two for capturing them. They suddenly heard someone else come through the entrance, and it was none other than Dash and the others, ready to save them.

 

"Well, if it isn't the boy from before!" Yuka said.

 

Dash remembered Yuka, but he never expected to see Durrell here, and in a Team Rocket uniform no less.

 

"Surprised that I work for Team Rocket?" Durrell asked.

 

"It's just odd," Dash said. "You're the same age as I am, but..."

 

Dash suddenly noticed him looking on in annoyance by his remarks. Dash didn't want to annoy him, but he wanted to know why he was a member of such an evil team.

 

"Durrell is a powerful battler, and considered a child prodigy," Yuka said. "You have to admit, he is the same age as you, brat, but believe me, you're far lower in battling abilities than ol' Durrell here."

 

"Enough, Yuka," he said.

 

He took out Rhydon's Poké Ball and prepared to battle the two.

 

"If you want those Pokémon, then defeat us, first!" Durrell said.

 

Dash took out his Poké Ball and sent out his Bulbasaur to battle. Knowing his recent victory over Brock, he was sure to take out both of them.

 

"Go, Rhydon!" Durrell said.

 

Durrell sent out his Rhydon, which immediately caused Bulbasaur to become afraid of him once more.

 

"Bulbasaur?" he asked. " But I thought he faced his fears! "

 

"Go, Squirtle!" Lina said.

 

Lina's Squirtle came out to battle with Rhydon, alongside Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur was confused as to what was going on.

 

"Bulbasaur, you have nothing to fear," she said. "Not with Squirtle by your side!"

 

Bulbasaur seemed to feel a little bit of comfort with Squirtle battling with him. Yuka rushed over to the captured Pokémon, while Adam went after her.

 

"You there," he said to his partner. "You and Yuka's grunts head to Cerulean City and take care of matters there."

 

" Cerulean City?! " Dash thought, knowing that it was the site of his next Gym Battle.

 

"Yes sir!" he replied. He turned to the other grunts. "Men, we're heading off!"

 

The grunts headed out while Yuka and Durrell prepared to take care of Dash and the gang. Adam stepped in front of Yuka, preventing her somewhat from taking the Pokémon.

 

"You think you can handle me?" Yuka said, taking out Raticate's Poké Ball. "Go, Raticate!"

 

Yuka sent her Raticate out battle against what should be Adam's Eevee. Adam took his Poké Ball out and prepared to battle.

 

"Eevee, let's go!" Adam said.

 

Eevee came out to battle Yuka's Raticate, while protecting the captured Pokémon.

 

"Raticate, use Super Fang!" Yuka ordered.

 

"Tackle, Eevee!" Adam ordered.

 

The two Pokémon attacked, while another battle was going on the other side with Bulbasaur firing Razor Leaves at Rhydon, who seemed to be blocking them with ease. A Water Gun attack suddenly hit him as it knocked him back a bit.

 

"Rhydon, use Earthquake!" Durrell ordered.

 

Rhydon smashed the ground and struck both Bulbasaur and Squirtle, both of whom seemed to be weakened already.

 

"You seem afraid, my darling Lina," Durrell said.

 

"Don't mock me, you little brat!" Lina growled.

 

"You seem annoyed with us. Maybe because of that arm we gave you."

 

Dash was surprised to hear that Lina's powerful arm was Team Rocket's doing. Adam was also surprised by this, so much that he didn't give a command for Eevee, who was struck by a Hyper Fang attack.

 

"Yes, she's a mere prototype for our real project," Durrell said. "Unfortunately, you don't have the knowledge to understand what we aim to do."

 

"You act as if I'm not human!" Lina snapped.

 

"Oh, please," he said. "You're not worth talking to."

 

"That does it! Squirtle, use Bubble!" Lina ordered.

 

Squirtle fired a Bubble attack, but it didn't seem to do anything to Rhydon, despite the advantage.

 

"Rhydon, Horn Drill!" Durrell ordered.

 

Rhydon used a Horn Drill to strike Squirtle and sent her flying backwards, knocking her out immediately.

 

"Squirtle!!!" Lina said.

 

"Now for Bulbasaur," he said.

 

Bulbasaur was scared now that his partner was out of commission. Dash wondered what to do now, and Lina seemed to think the same. The Clefairy and Clefable looked at each other and nodded, knowing what they had to do. They pointed their fingers in front of them, and began to move it side to side in syncing motion, as if it was a real metronome.

 

"What's going on?!" Yuka said, feeling a little bit worried about their attack.

 

"What are those Pokémon doing?" Dash asked.

 

"That's a Metronome attack," Lina said. "It's an attack that allows the user to use any attack in existence."

 

"ANY attack?!"

 

"Oh please," Yuka said. "What could they possibly---"

 

The Clefairy stopped as they began to glow a bright white. Yuka immediately knew what was coming, while Adam and Eevee began to run away in fear. The Clefairy and Clefable all exploded, destroying part of the mountain, sending Durrell, Yuka and their Pokémon along with them. Yuka and Raticate screamed while Durrell grabbed his Poké Ball and caught Rhydon with it in mid air. He flipped over and released a parachute, sending him safely through the air, while Yuka continued to fly into the distance.

 

"I just hope she has a safe landing," Durrell sighed.

 

Dash and the others recovered as they saw everyone gone and part of the area in ruins. Dash saw Lina and Adam recovering as they looked at the knocked out group of Clefairy and Clefable. The Pokémon recovered as they regained their senses.

 

“I gotta hand it to them,” Dash said. “They’re pretty good.”

 

\-------------------------------------------------------

 

Dash and the others were thanked for their hard work and assistance with the two Team Rocket members by the Clefairy and Clefable residing at Mt. Moon. Dash felt like it wasn't needed, but he accepted the thanks anyway. They were all rewarded with Moon Stones as their parting gift. Dash was informed by Adam that Nidoran could make good use of the evolution stone, so he kept it just incase. On their way to Cerulean City, Dash still wondered about something.

 

"I can't help but wonder," Dash thought out loud to the gang. "Are Pokémon...really aliens?"

 

Adam and Lina stopped, wondering that as well. They lived with Pokémon their whole lives, but it never occurred to them that they would come from outer space. The fact that Clefairy and Clefable all seemed to have come from a spaceship made them wonder.

 

"It just goes to show that there are many thing we don't know about Pokémon at all," Lina said.

 

Dash smiled, hoping to find the true answer one day. They saw Cerulean City in the distance and headed towards it, hoping to get his second Gym Battle out of the way.

  
  


To Be Continued!


	7. Misty and The Aqua Show!

Episode #7: Misty and The Aqua Show!

  
  


The gang progressed through Cerulean City to find the Gym Leader, Misty, who was in charge of the Cerulean Gym. They saw the Gym up ahead, which seemed to have numerous Water Pokémon on it, one of which was a Squirtle, which seemed to make Lina a bit happy. Dash saw a sign nearby and began to read it.

 

"'Attention all challengers,'" Dash repeated off of the sign. "'We are not having any gym battles until the end of the month. Instead, we are having a performance called the Aqua Show. We apologize for the inconvenience and will re-open for gym battles soon.' They're closing the gym down?!"

 

"That's another one we have to end up waiting for!" Lina complained.

 

"And the end of the month isn't until weeks from now," Adam added.

 

Dash didn't know what to do now. He didn't want to wait until this performance was over, but was he willing to wait that long? Lina and Adam were thinking of heading to another gym in the meantime, but they didn't know if there was another gym that was close to where they were. Dash was getting somewhat impatient and wanted something done about this. He ran off into the gym, leaving the others behind.

 

"Dash, where are you going?!" Lina asked. "I swear, this kid is too impatient!"

 

Dash stepped inside of the gym to see many people lined up to see the performance, as well as a signing booth with many photographers nearby. Nearby was Misty herself, the red headed girl with the one ponytail sticking up and had a mere bathing suit in terms of clothing, probably for her performance.

 

"Misty," one of the reporters said. "How do you feel about performing for the first time with your fellow actors?" Are you nervous at all?"

 

"I feel excited, actually," Misty replied. "Granted, I'm a little nervous, but I can't wait until the show starts.

 

" She must be famous in Cerulean City, " Dash thought.

 

Suddenly, Dash was smacked upside the head by none other than Lina, who was more than angry with him.

 

“ You jerk!” Lina snapped. “Do you ever give up?!”

 

“ Owww,” he cried.

 

Just then, a tall, blond-haired man, dressed in a knights outfit approached Misty and whispered something in her ear. She was surprised to hear what she just said, but realized she was still talking to reporters.

 

“ Excuse me for one moment,” Misty said. “I seem to have forgotten something really valuable inside of my locker room.”

 

The two ran off, while the gang waited for her to come back, they might as well watch the show anyway, since they had nothing better to do. Dash was very disappointed that they had to delay another gym battle for a show.

 

\-----------------------------------------------

 

Misty and the other guy that brought her away from everyone else were both inside of the locker room with the other actors, looking down at the young prince, who had broken his leg just before the show began.

 

"Does it hurt that badly?" Misty asked.

 

"Yeah," the brown-haired prince said. "I can't even move without squealing in pain! I don't know if I can do my performance now!"

 

"You're not going to do your performance," the blond-haired man said. "You need to rest that leg of yours."

 

"But what about the show?! You know you guys can't go on without me!"

 

"We'll think of another alternative. For now, rest here until the ambulance comes. We told them to show up in the back instead of the front, so no one will notice your injury."

 

Misty was in denial; she didn't know what to do. The show was about to start in a half hour and they had just lost their most crucial actor. Without him, they couldn't do the performance!

 

"We can't do this!" she said. "I'm going out there to tell them what's up!"

 

The blond-haired man stopped her, while Misty wondered what he was thinking.

 

"Roderick?" she asked.

 

"It's like the old saying goes," he began. "The show must go on!"

 

"Are you nuts?! There's no way we'll get a replacement in time!"

 

"I'm sure we'll think of a way. Besides, his part isn't until an hour into the show!"

 

Misty really didn't want to go through any alternatives, since the guy with the broken leg was the only one who could perform such a role.

 

"We'll find a way out of this," Roderick said. "I promise!"

 

Misty sighed as she accepted his offer. They still had to wonder what to do, now that their only top actor was injured badly. Misty walked toward the stage and peeked to the side, hoping that no one would see her. They were all anxious for the performance today, but knowing the situation at hand, her previous excitement seems to have fallen stiff.

 

"Don't worry about it," Roderick said, coming behind her and rubbing her shoulders. "We'll get through this. We've always have."

 

Misty sighed once more, hoping that he was right. They went back inside as they planned out what to do next. Right now, they could only go through the opening scenes while the two tried to find a replacement before it was too late. Amongst the audience, Dash and the others awaited Misty's performance, but they noticed that it was taking longer than they thought to get on with it.

 

"What's taking so long?" Dash asked.

 

"I think Misty forgot something in the back," Lina said. "They'll get on with the show, promise."

 

Dash really didn't want to see a performance when he had a mission to go on. He knew he wouldn't be able to get out of their sight, but he only wished his gym battle didn't have to be delayed because of this.

 

The performance was progressing safely, despite the accident earlier. They hadn't reached the scene yet, but Misty and Roderick needed to get a replacement before it was too late. Dash seemed to be enjoying some of the show, watching Misty recite her lines on stage. It was about an underwater kingdom that was being betrayed by a monster in the sea. Dash felt something inside of him and tapped Lina.

 

"I have to use the bathroom," Dash whispered.

 

"Don't go too far off," Lina said.

 

Dash sighed as he got up to use the restrooms. As he entered the hallway, he couldn't help but notice two young girls talking to each other. Both of them had long, brown hair, assuming that they were twins, and wore wearing mermaid outfits and had a pink bikini-top on with sea-shells as plates. They were talking about the accident and wondered who to replace for his role.

 

"I know it's hard, but who do we know that could replace Jimmy," one of the girls asked.

 

"I don't know," the other replied. "We've already started the show, so we have to find someone."

 

Dash nervously walked away, while the girls were talking about the young boy in front of them. It didn't take too long for Dash to realize that the young boy was him. He turned around to look at the young girls, which seemed to have gotten their attention.

 

"Young boy," one of the girls asked. "You got any experience in acting?"

 

Dash pondered inside of his memory for a second and remembered the time he was acting in a school play in second grade. Unfortunately, that was all he had in terms of acting (Not to mention he was a tree with very few lines).

 

"Some," he honestly replied.

 

"Well, we're in a desperate crisis and need some help."

 

"Y-You want me to help you?"

 

"Please," the other girl said. "We're in a huge crisis and need to get some help soon!"

 

Dash was surprised that they would ask someone like him to act for their play. They must have really be desperate if they were asking random people.

 

"If I do it," Dash said, "can I have the Cerulean Gym Badge?"

 

"Why?" one of the girls asked.

 

"Because I've been wanting to obtain enough badges to enter the Pokémon League. I know I won't get to face Misty anytime soon, so if I help, can I get that?"

 

"How about if you beat her. The guy you're replacing was supposed to battle Misty with her Staryu and Starmie, so do we have a deal?"

 

Dash was hoping to get a battle with the actual Gym Leader, and wanted to take this opportunity at its fullest.

 

"I'll do it!" Dash said.

 

"Good, now come with us so we can talk to Misty."

 

Dash followed the two girls to the dressing room where he was going to meet Misty, the Gym Leader of Cerulean City. He was nervous about doing this, since he had never been part of a big performance before. And considering the reputation they had, he just couldn't mess up. They went inside the locker room, where everyone else was waiting for Misty.

 

“ Everyone,” one of the girls said. “We found ourselves a replacement!”

 

Roderick went up to him and checked him out. Dash was a little nervous about him being nearby, but he just wanted to get this over with quickly.

 

“ He's a kid in a cheering squad outfit,” he said. “That's the best you could find?”

 

“ We're desperate,” one of the girls said. “It's either him or nothing. Besides, he has acting expertise.”

 

Misty suddenly came in to rest for her next act when she caught the eyes of Dash. She didn't know what was going on.

 

“ Wh-Who's he?” Misty asked.

 

“ I'm Dash Ryuujin,” he replied. “I'm...replacing your injured friend.”

 

“ You brought a kid to replace Jimmy?! Are you kidding me?!”

 

“ What else can we do?!” one of the girls asked.

 

“ Well, I don't want him. I'm not risking our first show with this kid screwing everything up!”

 

“ Misty,” Roderick began. Misty turned to him. “I'm willing to give him a chance. We've been having trouble all day looking for someone to replace Jimmy. It's either use him...or cancel the performance midway.”

 

Misty really didn't want to use someone like Dash, but she knew as much as anyone else that there wasn't much of a choice. She let out a heavy sigh and went up to him.

 

“ If you screw this up...” Misty began.

 

“ I won't!” Dash said as determined as humanly possible. “I'll be able to put on a good performance!”

 

She shoved into him the script for the performance. She began to walk off, turning to him before she can walk out.

 

“ Memorize that script by three PM today,” she said. “You have a small part as one of the Gyarados King’s right-hand man. That’ll be your only appearance. Screw this up, and you can forget about a Gym Battle!”

 

Dash needed to memorize all of his parts by that time, which was an hour from now. Roderick went over to Dash with a smile.

 

“I do apologize for her behavior,” Roderick said. “She’s somewhat of a tomboy, if you know what I mean. She’s been planning this show for almost two years and this is our first show, so you can see how stressful this is for her. Please, be sure to remember your lines.”

 

“I’ll do the very best I can!” Dash said.

 

Hopefully, the issue would be resolved by then and he would have lines memorized by then. Until then, Dash went into the back room to practice his lines...but first, Dash had to stop by the restroom like he initially planned.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------

 

The performance was running smoothly. Despite the crisis, everyone was moving the show right along, as if nothing had happened. Right now, Misty was on the stage, reciting some of her lines, while Lina and Adam wondered where Dash was.

 

“ I bet he went off to find Misty,” Lina said. “I swear, that kid doesn't give up!”

 

“ I'm sure he's just taking his sweet time,” Adam said.

 

“ Two hours in the bathroom?!”

 

Suddenly, the music in the arena began to get louder, and a mysterious shadow came through a hole that extended through the side of the cave prop that opened up.

 

“ Lady Alena,” the familiar voice said. “You're under arrest for treason!”

 

Lina and Adam froze in shock.

 

“ Oh...God!” Lina said, with her mouth covered by her hand.

 

“ That's not...!” Adam said.

 

The mysterious figure came through, which was none other than Dash in a royal water kingdom outfit, which was merely a blue, aqua-type armor complete with fins.

 

“ WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?!” Lina said in complete shock.

 

“ THAT'S DASH!!!!” Adam said in the same way.

 

“ What do you want with me?!” Misty snapped to Dash.

 

“ You have betrayed our kingdom and attacked our soldiers!” Dash said, pointing to her. “The king isn't going to like this!”

 

“ Oh god,” Lina said, losing her breath. “Tell me this is a nightmare. A big, scary nightmare.”

 

“ I will never return to the likes of you!” Misty said.

 

She sent out her Staryu to deal with Dash. It was a brown, starfish Pokémon with a gold crest in the middle, along with a ruby embedded inside. It didn't appear to have any visible eyes. Dash hoped to do well, since the whole play decided on his battle.

 

“ Nidoran, deal with that pest!” Dash said.

 

Nidoran came out and prepared for battle. Misty grunted as she prepared to strike first.

 

“ Go, use Tackle!” Misty ordered.

 

Staryu shot itself toward Nidoran and struck him hard. Nidoran fell to the ground, but he quickly got back up.

 

“ Use Poison Sting!” Dash ordered.

 

Nidoran fired a Poison Sting attack that hit Staryu, but Staryu was holding on strong.

 

“ Staryu, use Water Gun!”

 

Staryu fired a Water Gun from the tip of its head and strikes Nidoran with it. It shook it off and went off again.

 

“ Horn Attack!” Dash ordered.

 

Nidoran charged forward and struck Staryu with a Horn Attack, knocking it out. Misty recalled her Staryu as she prepared to send out her next Pokémon.

 

“ You have one last chance before I turn you in!” Dash said. “Do you want to prolong this nonsense?”

 

“ I will not return to your kind!” Misty said. “Go, Starmie!”

 

She sent out another of her Pokémon out. This one was similar to Staryu, except it was purple in color and had a second five pointed star on its back. Nidoran was ready to go and was willing to take out Starmie at all costs.

 

“ Starmie, use Psychic!” Misty ordered.

 

Starmie used Psychic to lift Nidoran up as he flailed about in the air. Starmie threw him into the water, resulting in a loud splash as he floated up, unable to battle.

 

“ Nidoran, return!” Dash said, sending Nidoran back into his Poké Ball.

 

“ Too tough for you?” Misty asked.

 

The crowd was getting excited over the battle that was going on. Everyone was cheering for Misty and they all wanted Dash to lose. Dash took out Bulbasaur's Poké Ball as he prepared to battle.

 

“ Not even the slightest!” Dash said. “Go, Bulbasaur!”

 

Bulbasaur came out and prepared to battle Misty and her Starmie, he glanced over at the crowd, and then at Dash, remembering what he told him about the crowd.

 

"Starmie, use Bubblebeam!" Misty ordered.

 

Starmie fired a Bubblebeam at Bulbasaur, which caused him to defend himself a little.

 

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!" Dash ordered.

 

Bulbasaur shot a Vine Whip at Starmie as it wrapped around it. Misty smiled as she had an idea to counter Bulbasaur.

 

"Tackle!" Misty ordered.

 

Starmie shot up and struck Bulbasaur, knocking him back. He slowly got up and retracted his vines back into his body.

 

"Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed!" Dash ordered.

 

Bulbasaur used Leech Seed to strike Starmie as it sapped the energy from her.

 

" Once more, then I'll get on with the show, " Misty thought, unaware of what would happen if she lost. "Bubblebeam!"

 

"Razor Leaf!" Dash ordered.

 

Both Pokémon fired their attacks as they hit each other. Misty snapped her fingers softly, signaling Starmie to remain motionless on the ground, as if it was knocked out.

 

"Starmie!" she acted.

 

"Now, you'll come with me like a good girl!" Dash began, acting sinister.

 

"HOLD IT!!!!" someone shouted.

 

Roderick rushed onto the stage as he grabbed hold of Dash and sent him to the ground.

 

"You will not take Misty away!" Roderick yelled.

 

"Bulbasaur!" Dash said.

 

Bulbasaur struck Roderick with a Razor Leaf, knocking him off of Dash. He got up and retreated.

 

"This isn't the end!" Dash said. "Come on, Bulbasaur!"

 

Bulbasaur followed Dash as they all headed off. Dash ran through the door inside the shell and ran as far away from the crowd as possible.

 

"Man, that went better than I thought," Dash said.

 

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur said.

 

"You were pretty good back there, I must say."

 

Bulbasaur smiled as Dash went down to pet him. The show would continue on throughout the day, without any problems. Dash's time was finished and now he was able to rest throughout the day, knowing that he was going to get the Cerulean Gym badge.

 

\----------------------------------------------

 

"YOU MORON!!!!" Lina shouted.

 

Lina punched him in the face and sent him flying against the wall outside of the gym.

 

"DON'T YOU EVER PULL THAT SICK STUNT AGAIN!!!!"

 

"Boy, you don't want to make her angry," Adam said to himself.

 

Dash was knocked into a very dizzy state, while his Bulbasaur tried to snap him out of it. Misty and Roderick both came out to see Dash to thank him for what he did.

 

"Dash," Misty said. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

 

"It was nothing, really." Dash said nervously.

 

"Now, Misty," Roderick said. "Don't you have something to give to him?"

 

"Wait, what?" Misty asked in confusion.

 

"Oh...No one told you, I guess. Well...he agreed that if he beats you as planned, he would get the Cascade Badge."

 

"What?!" Misty said in shock. "Are you serious?!"

 

Misty had no idea that Dash was supposed to get a badge if he successfully replaced Jimmy. She tried to find an alternative, but Dash was smiling with his hand out.

 

"Oh, fine," Misty said. Roderick took out a blue, rain drop-shaped badge and gave it to her. "You can have this."

 

She gave him the badge in question and placed it in his hand.

 

"This is the Cascade Badge. This was supposed to signify your victory over myself at the Cerulean Gym, but I guess the performance was close enough. Thanks for your help; I don't know what would have happened if you didn't help."

 

Dash smiled, happy that he was able to obtain his second badge in such short time. He showed it to Bulbasaur, who was happy that he got the badge at last. Lina and Adam were both happy, but they felt that it wasn't much of a fair battle. They would eventually stay for another day, but they weren't leaving the city yet. They had one more stop to go to before they went to the next gym, wherever it was.

  
  
  


To Be Continued!


	8. The Vulpix Thief

Episode #8: The Vulpix Thief!

  
  


On their way to the cape to the north, the gang stopped by a small port village to gather supplies. They visited the local Pokemon Center there as they decided to take a bit of a rest. They were soon stopped by a strange man with a black trench coat and a black fedora. Dash caught his eye and wondered what he wanted with him.

 

“ Which one of you is Dash Ryuujin?” the man asked.

 

“ That'd be me,” Dash replied.

 

“ I can't really talk for long. I was sent here by the Pewter Museum of Science, from John.”

 

“ My boss?” Adam replied.

 

He handed them a disc, titled NoNumber. Dash accepted it and put the disc in his backpack.

 

“ It's a secret data for Bill. Please take care of it.”

 

He headed off as he tried to avoid causing a commotion. Some other commotion was going on as Nurse Joy was peeking under a small grate below. They walked over to see what she was doing.

 

"What's going on?" Dash asked.

 

"There's a Vulpix inside the food storage,” Nurse Joy said. “I'm going to try to get it out."

 

Nurse Joy came out with a broom and headed into the storage chamber. Inside she found a small, orange-brown fox with six, short, curly tails and three curls on her head. She was grabbing a bag of Pokemon food and immediately noticed Nurse Joy.

 

"Stop thief!" Nurse Joy ordered.

 

Vulpix shot under her feet and ran out of the center. Dash ran after her and jumped out the window as well.

 

"Bulbasaur, let's go!" Dash said.

 

Dash sent his Bulbasaur out as he prepared to battle.

 

"Razor Leaf!" Dash ordered.

 

Bulbasaur fired leaves at Vulpix, who turned and shot a Flamethrower attack and burnt the leaves. The attack also knocked out Bulbasaur as he took the full brunt of the attack.

 

"Bulbasaur, no!" Dash said.

 

Vulpix ran off, leaving Dash wondering what a Pokemon would be doing stealing at all. Lina and Adam went over to him, making sure they were okay.

 

"Why would you pit a Grass Pokemon against a Fire Type?" Lina asked.

 

"I had to think of something," Dash replied.

 

Lina sighed. They all decided to head into the Pokemon Center now that the problem was gone. The gang decided to find out what a Vulpix was doing here at a Pokemon Center stealing food. Dash opened his Pokédex to get more information on the species in question.

 

"VULPIX: THE FOX POKÉMON. AT BIRTH, VULPIX ARE SHOWN WITH ONLY ONE TAIL, BUT AS THEY GROW OLDER, THE ONE TAIL BECOMES SIX."

 

“So, Nurse Joy,” Lina asked. “When did this Vulpix start stealing your food?”

 

“Two days ago,” Nurse Joy replied. “I didn’t pay too much attention to it until I noticed it came every two hours since then. I’m almost out of Pokemon food and I won’t get another shipment until four days later.”

 

They knew that Pokemon Centers get food for the Pokemon that stay here to heal up. It was also to make sure they got the nutrition they needed to keep going. Though without food, this caused a problem.

 

“I’m sorry to ask of this,” Nurse Joy said, “but would you be willing to help me out. I can’t afford to lose any more Pokemon food at all.”

 

“It’d be our pleasure!” Dash said.

 

“Hold on!” Lina replied. “You sure about this?”

 

"Of course. I can't see Nurse Joy losing food for Pokemon, especially with so many sick Pokemon in here."

 

"You do have a point."

 

“Well then," Adam asked. "Let's do this!"

 

“Thank you so much!” Nurse Joy said. “I really appreciate it!”

 

“So now that we’re doing this, what’s the plan?”

 

They all pondered to think up of a plan to stop that Vulpix from stealing from them.

 

“We set a trap!” Dash said. “And I know just the thing!”

 

They got permission to go into the back storage room to get Pokemon food for their trap. They planned to capture the Vulpix and see if they can get it to stop stealing. Their new trap involved a cage that was about Vulpix’s length.

 

Once everything was obtained, they went into the front lobby and set the trap. Dash set the food down as he looked up to see the cage hanging in the air. They waited about two hours until the time for Vulpix’s arrival. They all hid and before they knew it, Vulpix jumped through the window and looked around for humans.

 

“There it is!” Lina said.

 

Vulpix walked over to the food, albeit very cautiously. She slowly crept over to the food and sniffed it from a distance. She then turned around and walked elsewhere.

 

“So much for that,” Lina said.

 

Dash took out Nidoran’s Poké Ball and sent him out.

 

“Close the windows!” Dash said.

 

Dash jumped out from the hiding spot and confronted the Vulpix.

 

“Okay, Vulpix!” Dash said. “You’re coming with me!”

 

Vulpix growled as she prepared for battle.

 

“Poison Sting!” Dash ordered.

 

Nidoran fired a Poison Sting attack, which Vulpix dodged. She fired a Flamethrower that hit Nidoran hard. Dash was impressed by the ability Vulpix had.

 

“So cool!” Dash said.

 

Dash decided that he was going to catch Vulpix with a Poké Ball. He clenched his fists and prepared for battle.

 

“Nidoran, use Double Kick!” Dash ordered.

 

Nidoran charged toward Vulpix and struck her with a Double Kick attack. She shook herself and used a strange attack by sending a beaming light that struck Nidoran, and making it confused.

 

“What the?” Dash asked.

 

Vulpix took the bag and made a run for it through the doors. He grabbed Nidoran and charged after Vulpix.

 

“Come back here!” Dash said.

 

Lina and Adam went outside and saw Dash running off. They both wondered what he was going to do to capture that Vulpix.

 

“Let’s hope he comes back safely,” Lina said.

 

Adam hoped for the same thing. Dash probably couldn’t handle himself, but they didn’t underestimate Dash’s determination. They decided to follow the Vulpix and aimed to get his bag back.

 

\-----------------------------------

 

Dash, Bulbasaur and Nidoran, who had just snapped out of his confusion, continued through the forest in search of the Vulpix thief. They looked around for Vulpix and wondered where it could have gone. Nidoran slowly walked as it sensed things with its ears. Suddenly, it heard something and looked around.

 

“Hear something?” Dash asked.

 

Nidoran shot off as Dash followed him. Nidoran slowly crept to the bushes, while Dash heard the sound of a Vulpix, namely their cries. Dash and Bulbasaur peeked over the bushes and saw Vulpix giving an injured Vulpix some food. This Vulpix was much younger and very tired, as if it wasn’t feeling good.

 

“So that’s it,” Dash said.

 

Vulpix heard that and turned around, growling at the three of them.

 

“Easy there,” Dash said. “I’m not going to hurt you!”

 

“Nido, nido!” Nidoran replied.

 

Vulpix didn’t buy that and shot a Flamethrower at them. Nidoran slowly walked over to Vulpix and tried to explain himself. Vulpix soon calmed down as she allowed them to come over.

 

“Is he hurt?” Dash asked.

 

Vulpix nodded as they saw him eating some of the stolen food. After seeing this, Dash felt bad for the two of them.

 

“Poor thing,” Dash said. “Mind if I take a look and see what’s wrong.”

 

Vulpix nodded as he decided to check the Vulpix out. He noticed numerous scratch marks, which appeared to be somewhat recent.

 

“He’s hurt,” Dash said. “I need to take it to the Pokemon Center. Feeding him isn’t going to be enough for this poor thing.”

 

“Vul, vulpix?” Vulpix asked.

 

“His wounds can get infected and he’ll be much worse off than before.”

 

Dash lifted the injured Vulpix up as they headed to the Pokemon Center. They soon noticed his friends come by, who saw Dash with two Vulpix by his side.

 

“Dash!” Lina said.

 

“What’s going on?” Adam asked.

 

“I’ll explain later,” Dash said. “We need to get these two to the Pokemon Center!”

 

They made their way to the Pokémon Center to help the injured Vulpix sibling out. The younger sister hoped that her brother was fine, but the concern on Dash’s face meant otherwise. They all headed inside as they tried to get the young Vulpix some assistance. Once inside, Dash explained to Nurse Joy what was going on about the Vulpix he was taking in.

 

"Can you help it?" Dash asked.

 

"I'll see what I can do," Nurse Joy replied. "Let me take care of him."

 

Vulpix looked up at Dash, wondering why he was so willing to help them, despite being a thief.

 

"Vulpix?" the Pokémon asked.

 

"What's wrong?" Dash asked.

 

"Vul, Vulpix?"

 

"Sorry, but I don't know what you're trying to say."

 

"You're being nice to her," Adam asked. "She might be wondering why you're treating her so well, even if she was being a thief."

 

"Vulpix!" she replied, confirming Adam's response.

 

"Well, it's because I love Pokemon. So what if you stole from us? You're helping a friend and I'm helping a friend too!"

 

Vulpix was surprised when he said that. She didn't realize how much he cared about her kind, so this was a surprise to her.

 

"He'll be fine, trust me!" Dash said smiling.

 

Dash showed Vulpix his hand, wondering what he was doing. She soon knew what it was and lifted her paw, placing it on his hand, shaking it. Dash smiled, and so did Vulpix. After a long wait, Nurse Joy walked out to the main room with the young Vulpix on a cart. They all looked him and saw that he was good as new.

 

"He looks so happy!" Lina said.

 

"He sure does." Adam said.

 

"He's good enough to go off on his own,” Nurse Joy said. “Isn’t that right, Vulpix?”

 

“Vul, Vulpix!” the healed Vulpix replied.

 

He jumped off and sat by his friend and the two nuzzled happily. Dash walked over to them and smiled happily.

 

“Glad I came to help, huh?” Dash asked. “Take care of yourselves, okay?”

 

The two nodded as they made their way out into the wild again. Dash smiled in response to their happiness.

 

“Let’s get some rest,” Dash said.

 

They all decided to rent rooms, free of charge, thanks to Nurse Joy’s kindness. Outside, the female Vulpix looked back as she wondered about Dash. She had never been too fond of humans, but Dash was different. He was too kind for a human. The male Vulpix called out to the other as she followed to him.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

 

The next day, the gang left the Pokemon Center as they head off to Cerulean Cape to visit Bill to see what this NoNumber was all about. As they said their goodbyes to Nurse Joy, the female Vulpix peeked out from the bushes and saw the three of them leave. She jumped out and ran after them. Dash looked behind him as Vulpix tackled Dash, knocking him down and licking him.

 

“Whoa, hey!” Dash said.

 

He lifted her up as she wagged her six tails happily. Her rear end moved slightly from the tail’s weight.

 

“What are you doing?” Dash asked.

 

“I get the feeling she wants to go with you,” Lina replied.

 

Dash looked at her, still wagging her tails.

 

“Is that true?” Dash asked.

 

“Vul!” she replied.

 

Dash took out his Poké Ball as he smiled.

 

“Okay then, come with us!”

 

Dash poked her with the Poké Ball and sent her inside. The ball wiggled around until it dinged.

 

“All right!” Dash said. “I caught a Vulpix!”

 

He sent her out as she barked happily.

 

“Wait, but what about your friend?” Adam asked.

 

The other Vulpix called out to her as they saw him waving happily. Dash’s Vulpix waved back happily in response.

 

“I guess he’s okay with her leaving,” Dash said.

 

“Welcome to the team, Vulpix,” Lina said.

 

“Vul, pix!” Vulpix replied.

 

Dash lifted her up happily. It was going to be a fun time between the two of them, Dash could tell. They soon headed off to Cerulean Cape to meet Bill, but they soon found something along the way.

  
  


To Be Continued!


	9. Bill and Team Rocket!

Episode #9: Bill and Team Rocket!

  
  


The Pokémon Transportation Device, or PTD---as Bill, the creator, liked to call it---was a new machine that would allow trainers to trade Pokémon anywhere in the world. It was a brand new invention that was near its completion and would change the world for the better. Bill was almost done and needed something to test this machine. He heard a Pokémon call out to him, leaving him to look down to notice a purple mouse-like Pokémon with large, buckteeth, red eyes, and a curled tail. He bent down to pet his trusty Pokémon as he enjoyed it happily.

 

“ Hello, Rattata,” Bill said.

 

Bill was the technician for the PTD project. He had bushy, brown hair with a lavender collared shirt and gray pants. He was more into formal clothes, since suits made him uncomfortable. He finally got one of his broken kinks to work as the machine started up. Bill cheered happily, and so did his Rattata. His Rattata jumped onto the control panel from the table, which he got up there via the wooden stool near it, and waited for him to come out.

 

“ I just need to fix one last thing inside then we can test it out,” Bill said.

 

Bill entered the left capsule and tried to work on some of the mechanical parts inside. Rattata prepared to jump off of the control panel, but he slipped and fell, grabbing a nearby lever and pulling it down. Rattata fell inside the pods just as they began to shut, trapping both Rattata and Bill inside.

 

“ Wait,” Bill said. “Wh-What’s going on?!

 

Bill banged on the door, but it was too late for anyone to do anything about it. The machine fired and zapped both of them. The scream could be heard for miles, and since he was too far from the city, he couldn’t scream loud enough for anyone in the port town to hear him. That was, except for Dash and his friends, who had just heard the scream from Bill.

 

“ What was that?” Dash asked.

 

“ Sounds like someone's in pain,” Adam said.

 

“ It sounded like it was coming from Bill’s house,” Lina said. “Let’s go see.”

 

Bill wasn’t aware that they were coming, not in his condition. The pod on the left opened, letting a small Rattata out. This one was different, since it seemed to have the same hairstyle as Bill, only in a Rattata’s normal color. The Rattata got up on his hind legs and wondered what happened.

 

“ That was a tad unpleasant,” he said in Bill’s voice.

 

Rattata looked up and took a look at his new and unusual surroundings. Everything was bigger than him, leaving him to wonder what was going on.

 

“ Did I shrink?” he asked.

 

He looked at himself and freaked out, noticing that his arms were no longer his, but that of a Rattata. He checked himself out as he saw everything. The buckteeth, the curly tail, the rat-like belly; Bill was no longer human, but a Rattata. His own Rattata, in fact, since he couldn’t find his pet Pokémon anywhere.

 

“ Oh no!” he said. “I’m a Rattata! MY Rattata! What do I do?! I can't even reach that thing!”

 

He suddenly heard a knock on the door and began to freak out.

 

"Excuse me, Bill!" Dash said on the other side. "Are you there?"

 

" Oh no, " Bill thought. "S omeone's here! It's okay, as long as no one thinks I'm home... "

 

"Hmm, the door’s unlocked."

 

Bill freaked out even more, tightening his mouth shut so he couldn't give himself away. Dash and the others entered the cottage to find the Rattata looking at them with a nervous smile.

 

"That's an odd Pokémon," Dash said, taking out his Pokédex.

 

"RATTATA: THE RAT POKÉMON. RATTATA BITE ANYTHING WHEN IT ATTACKS OTHERS. BEING SMALL AND AGILE, IT IS COMMON IN MANY PLACES."

 

"R-R-Ratta, rattata," Bill said, trying to mimic a Rattata.

 

"That's the weirdest Rattata I've ever seen," Adam said.

 

"What makes you say that," Dash asked.

 

"I mean, it looks unusual. It's standing purely on its feet, it has human-like hair, it's looking at us like it's a freak, it's just...weird. And ugly. I mean, I know Rattata aren't the prettiest things ever, but this guy screams, ugly."

 

The word ugly screamed into his mind so much that he just had to say something.

 

"I AM NOT UGLY!!!" Bill snapped.

 

Bill closed his mouth immediately after that, while Dash and the others freaked out in shock.

 

"D-Did that thing," Dash said.

 

"Just talk?" Lina asked.

 

Bill just sighed, knowing that he just gave up his secret to other people.

 

"I guess I should explain myself," Bill said. "Where should I start?"

 

"How about where Bill is?" Dash asked.

 

"That's the problem," he said, sighing. "I am Bill."

 

They freaked out even more. They didn't know that Bill was some mutant Rattata.

 

"You must understand, though," Bill said. "I wasn't like this before!"

 

"You mean you are a human, right?" Adam asked.

 

"Yes. Could I ask a favor of you. Could you push the buttons on both the far left and the far right and pull the lever when I go in?"

 

Dash nodded in response. Bill waddled inside as Dash pressed the appropriate buttons and pulled the lever as it shut the doors. The same power that caused Bill to turn into his own Rattata began to activate again. Once it finished, the doors opened, leaving his Rattata to run out gasping for air. The real, human Bill came out, gasping for air as well.

 

"That was very unfortunate," Bill said. "Sorry about that, Rattata."

 

"Rat, rattata," he replied.

 

"What made you turn into a Rattata?" Dash asked.

 

"Well, this is supposed to be useable for Poké Ball’s only. It’s not quite done yet; this is simply a prototype. I guess I still have a ways to go.”

 

Dash wondered what it was, exactly. Was it really a machine that could turn humans into Pokémon?

 

“ This is supposed to be used to trade Pokémon with other people,” Bill said. “One day, I hope to make a machine that allows people from all over the world to trade with others. It’ll make things easier than going over to the recipient and simply exchange their Pokémon. Sadly, this appears to combine two objects instead of swap them…or in this case, human and Pokémon transformation.”

 

“ I think it’s neat that you’re making a trading device,” Lina said.

 

“ Well, right now, I have a near completed prototype for Poké Balls that automatically delivers it to trainers with more than six Pokémon.”

 

“ Why do trainers have to have six?” Dash asked.

 

“ Well, Trainers have had problems handling more than that, so why not switch when you need it?”

 

They suddenly heard the phone ring in another room, leaving Bill and his Rattata to go over to pick it up.

 

“ H-Hello?” he asked.

 

Dash walked in and tried to figure out who was on the other end. Bill was starting to sweat already, but he had no clue why.

 

“ I-I know I have the data for him, but why do you want it?”

 

He was silent for a moment.

 

“ What’s going on?” Adam asked.

 

Bill shushes them, while he continues listening.

 

“ I know what you guys are doing to other Pokémon. You just want…”

 

He suddenly stopped. Bill then sighed in response to whatever she said.

 

“ All right,” he replied. “I understand. Good-bye.”

 

He hung the phone up and sighed heavily.

 

“ Who was that,” Dash asked.

 

“ That was Team Rocket,” he replied. Everyone was surprised that he was talking to them. “I have information on a mysterious Pokémon, but for some reason, they want it.”

 

Dash wondered if this mysterious Pokémon was the infamous NoNumber. He took out the disc and wondered if this had anything to do with him. He soon realized why he was here and handed the disc over to him.

 

“ I forgot to mention,” Dash said. “This is for you,”

 

“ Ah, the Missingno data!” Bill said. “Good timing too!”

 

“ The what data?”

 

“ Oh, I apologize. This disc contains a weird piece of data called Missingno. It's actually a computer virus. I'm sorry if you were mislead by John from Pewter City. This NoNumber refers to the fact that it has no Pokédex Number. It acts like a Pokémon, complete with data.”

 

“ Can we see what’s inside of it?” Dash asked.

 

Bill suddenly looked grim, wondering if he should have accepted the floppy disc at all.

 

“ Not right now,” Bill said. “Besides, it has nothing to do with the NoNumber you're thinking of, if that’s what you’re guessing.”

 

“ Do you have anything on our NoNumber?” Lina asked.

 

Bill didn’t want to say anything. He seemed to be able to trust these kids, especially since they brought the Missingno disc to him.

 

“ I guess it’s no harm in just showing it to you.”

 

Bill walked to the nearby computer, waking it up from sleep mode so he can work on finding out NoNumber. He opened up a file that contained the mysterious Pokémon.

 

“ This contains information that I gathered about NoNumber,” Bill said. “Let’s see what it says.”

 

Bill opened the folder containing photos, and a bunch of them were in the same silhouetted nature as before. They saw one picture with its eyes, visible to the camera.

 

“ That’s just like the one I saw!” Dash said.

 

“ You saw NoNumber?!” Bill said surprised.

 

Dash nodded in response. Bill decided to go elsewhere, into the sound folder.

 

“ Well, maybe this might jog your memory,” Bill said.

 

He opened up a sound file that seemed to contain NoNumber’s voice. They listened to it and they found what they heard pretty interesting.

 

“ Mew….mew…mew, mew!”

 

“Unfortunately that’s all I got before it ran off,” Bill said.

 

“ Mew?” Adam asked. “Is that it's name?”

 

“ Odd Pokémon,” Lina said.

 

“ How did you get these?” Dash asked. “It sounds like you got a lot of them!”

 

“ I made something that allows me to track the location of Mew. I have yet to actually get some worthwhile information about it, but I won’t stop until I get it!”

 

“ Can we see it?” Adam asked.

 

Bill smiled, He began to go to a file which had his tracker under as it began to start up. Adam suddenly began to notice a strange red dot on the right side of his computer screen. Since the program itself wasn’t covering the dot, Adam could see it clearly.

 

“ Hey, what is that?” Adam asked.

 

Bill saw the dot, knowing exactly what it was. Bill freaked out and shut the monitor off. They were all wondering why he acted like that.

 

“ They’re watching me,” Bill said. “They want to know where she is!”

 

“ NoNumber?” Dash asked.

 

They suddenly heard a knock on the door. Bill freaked out again, knowing who it was.

 

“ Rattata, run and hide!” Bill said. “The rest of you, hide as well.”

 

Rattata did just that and ran off. Bill walked over to open the door, while the rest of them ran off and hid as well. They knew that if it was Team Rocket, they couldn’t blow their cover at all. Bill opened the door to see Yuka on the other side.

 

“ It’s a pleasure to see you, Bill,” Yuka asked.

 

“ What do you want?” Bill asked.

 

“ Data on NoNumber. We know you have the tracking device, so let’s see it!”

 

Bill tapped his pocket silently, wondering if this was the right thing to do. Bill sighed as he let them inside. They walked to his computer and restarted his monitor, which he originally shut off earlier. Dash, peeking through the staircase above, wondered how he would handle Team Rocket. Bill inserted the Missingno disc inside the computer.

 

“ It’s inside the file I inserted into the computer,” Bill said. “You’re welcome to view it if you want.”

 

“ Thank you, Bill,” Yuka said.

 

Yuka sat down and began to look through it, leaving Bill to look upstairs and nod to Dash. He wondered if he had a plan for them, but he took out Vulpix’s Poké Ball just in case. Once Yuka opened the file, weird pixels began to take over the screen. Yuka tried to do everything she could to stop it, even shutting the computer off, but she had no luck. Suddenly a message popped up saying. “EvEry biT oF daTa iS gOnE. ForEveR! MWaHaHAhAHaHa!!!!”

 

“ What did you do?!” Yuka snapped.

 

“ What was that?” Lina whispered.

 

“ I bet it was a virus!” Adam whispered back.

 

“ Sorry, but I’m not going to give in that easily,” Bill said. “I wanted to make sure that there was no way to get that data, so I deleted everything on that computer!”

 

Yuka was surprised that he possessed this much knowledge to create a computer virus. She simply wondered how smart this wimpy nerd was.

 

“ You dirty little brat!” Yuka snapped. “Raticate, deal with this traitor!”

 

Yuka’s Raticate came out and charged after Bill. Dash sent out his Vulpix as fast as possible to deal with it.

 

“ Flamethrower!” Dash ordered.

 

Vulpix used a Flamethrower attack to stop Raticate in its tracks, falling to the ground in pain from the burning sensation.

 

“ I see you have a new Pokémon,” Yuka said, looking up the stairs.

 

“ Vulpix, use Quick Attack!” Dash ordered.

 

Vulpix hit Raticate as it knocks it back to Yuka. She got up and wondered what to do with these four jerks that were nearby. Suddenly small balls popped up from nearby and explode.

 

"What the heck?!" Lina said, coughing in response. Everyone else soon began to cough, but Bill seemed to pass out quite easily. Everyone else, even Yuka, fell to the ground, unconscious. They didn't know what was going on. Soon Durrell walked through the door with his Rocket partner by his side. He looked down at Yuka, who seemed to be affected by his knockout bombs.

 

"Pathetic woman," he said.

 

He looked at the screen to see a mysterious glitchy L shaped picture. He thought that something must have happened to the data and wondered if Yuka ever got a hold of it. He lifted her and looked down at them.

 

"I guess I'll deal with them shortly." the rocket grunt said.

 

"Take only Dash," Durrell said. "The others aren't of much use to us."

 

Durrell walked out with Yuka, while his partner looked down at Dash, hoping he wouldn't wake up soon. About an hour passed before everyone started to recover from their sleep. They both got up and wondered what happened to them.

 

"My head hurts," Adam said.

 

"I guess those were knockout bombs," Lina said.

 

"Yeah," Bill said. Lina looked around for Dash, but found out he wasn't nearby. "Why must everything bad happen to me?"

 

"Hey! Where's Dash?!"

 

They looked around, but they didn't see Dash anywhere. They only saw Vulpix, who was still snoozing along. Adam woke her up, while everyone else figured out what to do.

 

"This day just gets worse," Bill said in shame. “I turn into a Rattata, I lost all of my data and now your friend is gone. I can't do anything right."

 

"Is it possible to find out where they could have taken him?" Adam asked.

 

"Not really," he said.

 

Lina looked near the computer and saw an odd ticket. She picked it up to find out that it was for a large cruise ship called the S.S. Anne. They all wondered if they were heading towards that ship, since it wasn't Bill's at all. They figured it was worth a shot. Everyone decided to head out the door and find out where this S.S. Anne was going. They also hoped that Dash was on board the ship itself.

  
  


To Be Continued!


	10. The Raid on The S.S. Anne!

**Episode #10: The Raid on The S.S. Anne!**

  


Dash slowly woke up from his sleep, however unlike with the others at Bill's Cottage, he wasn't with them at all. He looked around and found himself inside of a storage room, filled with boxes and crates of who knew what. Dash got up, wondering where he was. He checked his belt for his Pokémon, only to realize that he didn't have _any_ of his Pokémon.

 

"Where are my Pokémon?!" Dash asked, checking himself.

 

He still had no clue where he was was right now. He suddenly heard the intercom cracking above him, leaving him to look up at a flat speaker attached to the ceiling.

 

"Attention passengers," it said. "The S.S. Anne will be departing for Vermilion City in thirty minutes. Please be patient while we take all passengers on board. Thank you for riding with us this fine evening."

 

"Well, at least it's going to where I want it to go," Dash said with a sigh of relief. "But that still doesn't explain how I got on this ship anyway. Wait, I wonder if Team Rocket had anything to do with this!"

 

Dash looked around for a door and saw a large, wooden double door nearby. He rushed towards it and tried to open it, but it didn't seem to work.

 

"I need to find a way to escape from this place. I just hope my Pokémon are safe."

 

He didn't seem to notice the strange man hanging above him alongside his blue bat-like Pokémon with purple wings and a large gaping mouth. He had been keeping an eye on him all this time and Dash didn't seem to notice him at all. His whole body was concealed by the shadows.

 

"It's only a matter of time," he said, "before you fall victim...to the shadows!"

 

\---------------------------------------------

 

Lina and Adam progressed throughout the ship in search of Dash. Bill was absent since the pair of tickets only allowed two people. He had work to do, so it wasn't that big of a deal. They saw the many trainers gathered aboard the ship waiting to head off to Vermilion City. Lina looked around, but they didn't seem to find Dash anywhere.

 

'Okay," Adam said. "We have thirty minutes to find him and make sure he's on this ship. This is heading to Vermilion City, so we shouldn't have to worry about getting off track."

 

"But what if he isn't on here?" Lina asked.

 

"We have plenty of time, so let's find him before it's too late."

 

"If you say so."

 

The two split up and attempted to find Dash who was, hopefully, somewhere inside. As they continued onward, he seemed to find a bunch of kids talking about the Gym Leader of Vermilion City. He walked over and discretely listens in on their conversation.

 

"Is he really that tough?" the black haired kid asked.

 

"Yeah," the brown haired kid said. "I mean, his Raichu is just unstoppable! I heard that he used this same force in the army."

 

"Personally, I think he's just being an impersonator. I mean, an army guy acting like that in real life. There's no way he'd get away with such nonsense."

 

Adam knew he had a mission to go on, but he walked over to the young boys to find out a thing or two about the Vermilion Gym Leader.

 

"Excuse me?" Adam asked. "Who are you talking about."

 

"Lieutenant Surge," the brown haired kid said. "He's rumored to be a very harsh Pokémon trainer. He doesn't care about anyone, even his own Pokémon...that is, except his Raichu."

 

"They say Raichu protected him in war, but I doubt that's true."

 

"I see," Adam said. "Well, thanks anyway."

 

Adam walked off while the boys continued talking about him. He continued searching for Dash, who was still somewhere on the cruise liner. He passed by someone who seems to be looking at Adam with interest. This person was none other than Keiji Rensan. Adam stopped to look back at him, wondering if he was listening in on those boys. Adam just shrugged it off, but Keiji stopped him.

 

"I see you're interested in Lt. Surge." Keiji said. Adam stopped and looked back at him. "I have a bit of information if you want it."

 

" _He seems to have a very dark aura surrounding him,_ " Adam thought. " _I can feel it even from here._ "

 

"Those kids are wrong. He _is_ in the army. In fact, his Raichu saved him from near death. Which is why he trains Electric Types. But I doubt even you would beat someone like him."

 

"I happen to know of a Gym Leader myself," Adam said.

 

“I see. Anyway, don't bother wasting your time looking for him. He's just way too powerful."

 

Adam wondered if he was really that strong of a gym leader. He just walked off while Keiji continued to drink his coffee as he watched the two boys walk away. He suddenly noticed two Team Rocket members talking in a corner as they suddenly walked off. Keiji finished his coffee and began to follow them. He couldn't help but wonder what an organization like them would be doing on a ship like this. He suddenly heard them talking about Dash, which seemed to give him an odd look.

 

"Don't bother with that kid," one of the grunts said. "Dokuro is taking care of him."

 

"That sicko?" the other asked. "I feel sorry for that kid. Having to deal with a psychotic narcissist like him."

 

"Don't insult him. He might hear us. Who knows what he can do with those ears of his."

 

"Well, it's going to take a miracle to deal with him. He's a literal vampire."

 

They turned around to notice Keiji nearby, but once they did, he punched one of the grunts in the face, and struck the other with the back of his fist. The one who was still standing was a bit disoriented, but Keiji wrapped his arms around his neck.

 

"Wh-What do you want from us?!" the rocket grunt asked.

 

"Tell me where Dash is!" Keiji threatened. "Right now!"

 

"I-I don't know!"

 

He choked him harder, causing him to gag.

 

"You're not going to work well with me," Keiji said. "Tell me where Dash is!"

 

"He-He's in the storage room on---GAH!!!---on the lower deck!" he replied. "Please don't hurt me!"

 

"Thank you," he said.

 

He pushed him to the ground and took out a Poké Ball. He sent out a very large, purple ghost-like Pokémon with no legs, floating arms, and a evil smile across its face.

 

"Haunter, use Hypnosis!" Keiji said.

 

Haunter smiled as he stared into his victim's eyes. Haunter's eyes began to glow a purplish color, as did his victim's. The rocket grunt soon fell asleep while the two headed off to find Dash and the others.

 

\-------------------------------------------

 

Lina found herself near a storage area of the ship, used to transport various cargo for the travelers boarding the ship. Lina poked her head around the corner, along with her Squirtle, to find two rocket grunts guarding the door below. She wondered if Dash was inside, leaving her to think of a way to get through.

 

"Squirtle," Lina whispered. "Use Water Gun to knock those rocket grunts down."

 

Squirtle ran out and fired a Water Gun attack at the two of them. Lina then rushed forward and struck the two of them, knocking them out immediately. Lina looked at the door and wondered if Dash really was inside. She opened the door to see the cargo room filled with darkness, aside from the light from the door Lina just came through.

 

"Okay, here goes nothing," Lina said. "DASH, ARE YOU IN HERE?!"

 

There was no response, until...

 

"LINA?!" Dash calls out. "IS THAT YOU?!"

 

"Dash!" she said in joy. "I'M BY THE FRONT DOOR!"

 

Suddenly, the door she was talking about closed behind her, trapping her and her Squirtle inside. Now neither of them could see what was going on.

 

"Well, if it isn't Princess Lina!" a mysterious, yet crazy voice said. "Who would have thought that I'd see you again?"

 

She looked up to see a man cloaked entirely in black. She couldn't make him out completely, but she knew who he was.

 

" _Dokuro!_ " she thought. " _What is he doing here?!_ "

 

"I see you're with that brat, Dash!" Dokuro said. "Well, that's more of a reason for me to take you both out. Golbat! Sic em!"

 

Golbat swooped down and struck Lina, tackling into her and attempting to bite her shoulder.

 

"Squirtle!" she said struggling to get it off of her. "Water Gun!"

 

Squirtle fired a Water Gun at Golbat, striking it. Golbat then unleashed a Supersonic blast that caused everyone except Golbat's own trainer to cover their ears. Squirtle was completely confused while Golbat struck Lina while she was down. Dash couldn't see anything in the darkness and couldn't do a thing to help her.

 

"Dash!" Lina said, struggling to get Lina off of her.

 

"I-I don't have any Pokémon on me!" he shouted to her.

 

She punched the Golbat in the face as it flew off of her. It attempted to attack Lina again while she was weak, but door suddenly shot open and Golbat was immediately shot by a stream of fire that knocked it aside. Lina slowly got up, leaving her Squirtle to check her out to make sure she was okay. Lina turned to the door to see Keiji and his Charmander, who seemed to have come to the rescue.

 

"It's Keiji," Dash said.

 

"Charmander, use Ember!" Keiji ordered.

 

Charmander fired an Ember attack that struck Golbat, leaving it to retreat to his owner above.

 

"Well," Dokuro said. "It seem we have some company!"

 

"Why are you here?" Keiji asked.

 

"Me? I'm just doing what my boss ordered me to do: kidnap Dash until we got to Vermilion City. However, now that you're here, I'd be a fool to take you on."

 

" _He's leaving already?_ " Dash thought. " _Is Keiji really that strong?!_ "

 

"Don't forget about us, because we'll be back to eliminate all of you, permanently!"

 

Dokuro spread his wings that were attached to his suit and flew off. He shot some explosives that destroyed a piece of a wall at the top of the room. It wasn't near the water, so the ship wouldn't sink. Dash ran over to Lina to make sure she was all right.

 

"Where's the antidote?" Dash asked.

 

"My right pocket," Lina replied.

 

Dash was digging into her pocket for an antidote. He took it out, but he suddenly looked up at Keiji, wondering why he would bother helping them.

 

"T-Thank you," Dash said.

 

Keiji simply turned around and raised his hand, telling him it was no big deal. He and Charmander headed to the top, while Dash tended to Lina's poisoning. Dash found it odd that he would help them, especially after Keiji stating that he didn't care for the weak. So why did he help them? Dash was really confused by his actions. Once they were better, they headed back to the top, hoping to find Adam, who was probably still looking for them. Not to mention that Dash's Pokémon were still somewhere on the ship.

 

Adam in the meantime, was still searching for Dash, unaware that Lina rescued him already. He went to a nearby room guarded by Team Rocket members and wondered if Dash was hidden inside of there. Adam took out Eevee's Poké Ball and turned to face them.

 

"Eevee, use Tackle!" Adam ordered.

 

Eevee charged forward and tackled one of the grunts. Eevee tackled the other guy as well, knocking him into a wall. Adam rushed in and opened the door, only to find a bunch of Poké Balls inside.

 

"Uhhh...whoops," Adam said. "These must be Dash's Pokémon."

 

One of the rocket grunts got up to deal with Adam, but Vulpix suddenly struck him. Adam took the Poké Balls and headed off, leaving Dash and Lina, as well as the Pokémon, to follow him. Once they were far enough from all of the Team Rocket members, Adam returned Bulbasaur and Nidoran to Dash, who was happy that they were back with him at last.

 

"Thanks, Adam," Dash said.

 

"You're welcome," he replied. "Though if it wasn't for you, that Team Rocket guy might have gotten me."

 

They eventually decided to alert the crew about Team Rocket’s infiltration and hoped that they would be able to help. It was a long boat ride to Vermilion City and they hoped they were off by then.

 

\------------------------------------------

 

Dash and the others relaxed safely now that Team Rocket wouldn't harm them anymore on the S.S. Anne. They finally managed to relax in a nearby hot tub on their way to Vermilion City. Dash still couldn't help but wonder why Lina knew so much of Team Rocket. The thought made him curious.

 

"Hey, Lina?" Dash asked. "Where did you get that hand thing from?"

 

"Yeah, I've been wondering that as well," Adam said.

 

Lina looked at her amplifier and sighed.

 

"It's a bit of a test object," Lina said, "or at least that's what they call it."

 

"Test object?" Dash asked.

 

"They told me that they were making something powerful. Something no one has ever seen before. For me, I'm the first in line."

 

"Of what?"

 

Lina paused for a bit and just simply closed her eyes.

 

"I can't say a word of it," she replied.

 

Adam and Dash looked at each other, wondering what they did to Lina. They were still confused about Dokuro and his relation towards her.

 

"Something's been bothering me," Dash said. "Why did that bat guy call you princess?"

 

"Don't get any ideas about it,” Lina said. “He just calls me that because he thinks it’s fitting. I just hate how it sounds. Princess. I'm sorry but that's not me at all."

 

They both felt bad for Lina. They had no idea that she was going through so much trouble between her and Team Rocket. They decided to relax on their way to Vermilion City, hoping to battle against the Gym Leader there. Adam, knowing who he could expect, hoped Dash was strong enough to defeat Lt. Surge. Otherwise, who knew what he would do.

  


To Be Continued!


	11. Keiji and Lt. Surge

**Episode #11: Keiji and Lt. Surge!**

  


Dash and the others finally arrived in Vermilion City, known as The Port of Exquisite Sunsets. They looked around at the numerous shops nearby, but Dash was more focused on the gym itself. They came across a nearby Pokémon Center, where they decided to rest up, when suddenly a young boy with red hair and a yellow and blue striped shirt came running towards the center with a small, round, blue Pokémon with leaves sticking out of its head.

 

"Hold on, I'll save you, Oddish!" the boy cried as he ran into the Pokémon Center.

 

"Whoa," Dash said.

 

"What was that about?" Lina asked.

 

Someone soon approached them from behind. It was none other than Keiji Rensan, Dash's rival.

 

"Another victim of Lt. Surge, I suppose," Keiji said.

 

"What do you mean, 'another victim?'" Dash asked. "And who's Lt. Surge?"

 

"Ah, I see you haven't met the Gym Leader yet. He's really popular, as well as a God in battling."

 

"Is he really that tough?" Lina asked.

 

"Trust me, he's been in the army for twenty years! He knows how to fight like a soldier!"

 

Dash wondered how he knew so much about Lt. Surge. Meeting an army soldier didn't seem like a good idea, but if it meant getting his third gym badge.

 

"You seem to know so much about Lt. Surge," Dash said.

 

"Of course," Keiji replied. "He's my father."

 

They were all shocked to hear that Keiji was Lt. Surges father. Dash wondered if the Gym Leader himself was as rude as Keiji was towards trainers.

 

"Though, I don't take my father's namesake. We’re not really related by blood. I live with my mother mostly, but I respect my father in everything he does!"

 

" _I bet he's a jerk, too,_ " Dash thought. " _Based on what you just told me about your mother._ "

 

"Anyway, if there's any badge you should quit on getting, it's this one. Why not got to Saffron City's Gym and fight Sabrina there. I hear she's a wacko! Anyway, good luck. Not that you'll need any of it!"

 

As Keiji headed towards the Pokémon Center, he couldn't help but wonder something about his attitude.

 

"Hey, Keiji," Dash said. Keiji stopped. "Why are you so willing to talk to me all of a sudden? I mean, you said you didn't want to associate yourself with the weak."

 

Keiji was silent. He had an answer, but surprisingly, he was too embarrassed to answer back.

 

"You're," he stuttered. "You're going to have to talk to my father about that....Goodbye."

 

Keiji walked inside of the Pokémon Center, while Dash wondered if Lt. Surge was really that tough, especially since he sounded so nervous when he responded to his question.

 

"We should head off to the gym,' Dash said.

 

They all agreed, leaving them to head off in search of the Vermilion Gym. Dash only wondered if Lt. Surge was really this powerful. Knowing how scared Keiji sounded, Dash could only hope for safety for his own Pokémon.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The gang finally arrived at the Vermilion Gym, the large building with the electric bolt designs on the front. Dash stepped up on the front steps to knock on the door, but once he did, he didn't seem to get a hello at all. In fact, the Gym Leader himself and his main Pokémon were outside on the track. The man with blond spiky hair wearing a basic army uniform was watching his Pokémon, an orange-brown mouse-like Pokémon with a slightly chubby build, large, stylized ears and a long, black tail with a lightning bolt shaped design at the end of it was running laps on the track with his hind legs.

 

"You got twenty more to go!" Lt. Surge said.

 

Raichu, the Pokémon in question, had already ran thirty laps out of his fifty and was showing no signs of tiring. Raichu soon stopped as he heard something.

 

"Rai, Raichu!" he said.

 

He pointed to the door, while placing his hand behind his ear to listen. Lt. Surge did the same, hearing Dash call out for him.

 

"Looks like we got another maggot to deal with," Lt. Surge said. "I'll handle this pipsqueak, you finish your laps."

 

"Rai!" he said.

 

Raichu continued running, while Lt. Surge entered the gym to open the front door for Dash and his friends. Dash looked at him in shock and awe at his powerful structure. He was definitely a member of the army, that's for sure.

 

"Why are you here?" Lt. Surge said.

 

"I...I want a gym battle with you," Dash said.

 

Lt. Surge eyed Adam, who just shivered nervously. Dash wondered if this really was a good idea.

 

"Well then," Lt. Surge said. "Come inside."

 

Dash entered the gym, leaving Adam and Lina to follow, but Lt. Surge placed his hands in front of them.

 

"Only the challenger is allowed inside!" Lt. Surge barked.

 

"No fair, we can't even watch him?!" Lina asked. They could see Lt. Surge's anger rising, and even Lina knew that she didn't want to test his patience. "On second thought, we'll wait outside."

 

Lt. Surge took Dash inside and slammed the door shut. Lina sighed in relief, but she was still worried for Dash.

 

"That was lame," she said. "How rude can this guy get?"

 

"Well...I actually know him firsthand." Adam said. "I actually came here to tend to his Raichu, just to take care of him while he went to the armory."

 

"His Raichu?"

 

"He's actually more innocent than he is, but he's still a pest. I could barely keep him still. Fortunately, Lt. Surge liked how I handled him. He even rewarded me with this."

 

He took out a greenish-yellow stone with a pattern of a lightning bolt engraved inside of it. Lina wondered what he was holding, since she'd never seen it before.

 

"What's that?" she asked.

 

"A Thunder Stone," Adam said.

 

"Ah, I heard of that. I've never seen one before."

 

"Yeah, it's supposed to evolve my Eevee into a Jolteon, but I don't know if I even want a Jolteon. I might hang onto it, or at least wait until I find something better to use."

 

"I say use it now while it's still on your mind."

 

"Well, I like my Eevee the way she is," Adam said, nervously. "I don't think Eevee would like it if I evolved her that early!"

 

While they were talking, Dash was inside, ready to battle Lt. Surge. He seemed to notice that there were many electrical towers nearby, which seemed to make Dash a bit nervous. He wondered why he even had those in the first place. He didn't want to focus on those.

 

"Hey, where's the referee?" Dash asked.

 

"Who needs them," Lt. Surge replied. "Gym Leaders with referees are optional in the Pokémon League. As long as its a legal gym, then everything's set."

 

Lt. Surge snapped his fingers as the electrical towers activated, spreading electricity nearby. Dash feared that this may go to his advantage.

 

"Well, maggot?" Lt. Surge asked. "You scared now?!"

 

" _Did he seriously call me maggot?_ " Dash thought. "N-No, I'm not afraid of you!"

 

"Then let's rock! Go, Voltorb!" Lt. Surge said.

 

Lt. Surge sent out a small red and white ball with eyes on the red part. It seemed to resemble a Poké Ball of sorts, except it was much bigger than one. Dash opened his Pokédex to check it out.

 

"VOLTORB: THE BALL POKÉMON. VOLTORB ARE OFTEN FOUND IN POWER PLANTS. THEY WERE COMMONLY MISTAKEN FOR POKEBALLS, AND WILL ZAP ANYONE WHO ATTEMPTS TO TOUCH IT."

 

Dash took out one of his Poké Balls and prepared to deal with the unusual Pokémon.

 

"Go, Bulbasaur!" Dash said.

 

Dash sent out his Bulbasaur to deal with the electric type Pokémon. Lt. Surge laughed at his pathetic Pokémon, while Bulbasaur growled in anger. Dash could only hope to settle this as soon as possible.

 

“Voltorb, use SonicBoom!” Lt. Surge said.

 

Voltorb spun around and unleashed a powerful shock wave that struck Bulbasaur and made it a tad bit disoriented. Bulbasaur managed to get up fine, leaving Dash to go on the offensive.

 

“Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!”

 

Bulbasaur fired a Razor Leaf attack that seemed to affect Voltorb a lot. It began to spin around, preparing for another attack.

 

“Tackle!” Lt. Surge ordered.

 

Voltorb bounced forward, maintaining its spinning momentum, and struck Bulbasaur hard.

 

“SonicBoom!” Lt. Surge ordered.

 

Voltorb fired the powerful shock wave again, striking Bulbasaur in the same manner.

 

“ _Maybe if I can get it while it’s spinning!_ ” Dash thought. “Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!”

 

Bulbasaur shot a Vine Whip that wrapped around Voltorb, but the force caused Bulbasaur to lose balance, and instead went flying around. Lt. Surge continued to laugh.

 

“Some good that did!” he said.

 

“Bulbasaur, swing him!” Dash ordered.

 

Bulbasaur landed on the ground and forced all of his power to send Voltorb flying into the wall. Lt. Surge was surprised that Bulbasaur managed to do that.

 

“Lucky brat,” he said, softly.

 

“Good work, Bulbasaur!” Dash said.

 

“Bulba!” he replied.

 

“Voltorb, Tackle!” Lt. Surge ordered.

 

Voltorb spun around again and tackled Bulbasaur, knocking it to the ground, but as it struggled to get up, Voltorb began to spin faster.

 

“Selfdestruct!” Lt. Surge ordered.

 

Voltorb began to flash brightly in front of Bulbasaur. Suddenly, Voltorb exploded violently, knocking Dash off of his feet. Lt. Surge smiled, seeing both Voltorb and Bulbasaur unable to battle.

 

“Bulbasaur!” Dash cried.

 

“Let this be a reminder, kid!” Lt. Surge. “We must make a lot of sacrifices in our world, even if it means knocking out our own Pokémon to cause their opponents Pokémon to faint as well.”

 

Dash recalled his Bulbasaur, while Lt. Surge recalled his Voltorb. Dash was surprised by Lt. Surge’s sudden attack, but he feared that there was more to come in terms of surprises.

 

“Go, Pikachu!” Lt. Surge said.

 

Lt. Surge sent out a unique and all too familiar Pokémon. It was a small, yellow mouse-like Pokémon with long, black-tipped ears, red cheeks and bits of brown on both its back and its lightning bolt-shaped tail. Dash knew what it was, of course, but he wondered why a tough guy like him would have such a cute Pokémon. Dash opened his Pokédex to check it out.

 

“PIKACHU: THE MOUSE POKÉMON. PIKACHU ARE AMONGST THE MOST POPULAR POKÉMON IN THE WORLD. WHEN SEVERAL OF THEM GATHER, THEIR POWER CAN CAUSE LIGHTNING STORMS.”

 

“I know that you train electric Pokémon, but a Pikachu?”

 

“It’s not looks that count,” Lt. Surge said. “It’s strength! I’ve used my cute Pokémon to make my soldiers look weak!”

 

“I just wonder…why does he act like he’s part of the army so much? And why does he train Pokémon like Pikachu anyway?”

 

Dash took out another one of his Poké Balls and prepared to battle that Pikachu, despite the odd circumstances.

 

“Go, Vulpix!” Dash said.

 

Dash sent out his newly caught Vulpix to fight Pikachu. Lt. Surge laughs once again.

 

“Man, I knew you were weak, but geez!” he said.

 

Dash was annoyed with his remarks, as was Vulpix.

 

“Vulpix, use Quick Attack!”

 

“You too, Pikachu!” Lt. Surge ordered.

 

The two of them struck each other with their own bodies as they attempt to push each other aside.

 

“Thundershock!” Lt. Surge ordered.

 

Pikachu released a powerful bolt of electricity that struck Vulpix, causing it to roll backwards and eventually land on his feet.

 

“Vulpix, use Confuse Ray!” Dash ordered.

 

Vulpix creates a bright light that caused Pikachu to instinctively close its eyes. Lt. Surge wasn’t phased, though.

 

“Brave the light, Pikachu!” Lt. Surge said. “Use Quick Attack!”

 

Pikachu charged towards Vulpix and struck her hard. Vulpix was still going strong, despite the slight fatigue.

 

“Vulpix, use Ember!” Dash ordered.

 

“Thundershock!” Lt. Surge ordered.

 

Vulpix’s eyes began to shoot small embers, while Pikachu was ready to release another Thundershock attack, but Vulpix shot her attack first. Pikachu attempted to endure the attack, but even he wasn’t able to protect himself from the attack.

 

“Vulpix, use a full force Quick Attack!”

 

Vulpix charged as fast as she could and struck Pikachu hard. The force knocked him back, and knocked him out as well. Lt. Surge smiled, despite the loss, since he knew what was coming up next.

 

“Well, I hope you’re ready!” he said. “Those two were mere warm-ups compared to what I have in store.”

 

“ _Warm-ups?_ ” Dash thought. “ _He really is like his own son!_ ”

 

Lt. Surge suddenly blew into his own whistle, causing Dash to cover his ears. Suddenly, his Raichu came flying through the door, busting it open, and continued running until it arrived in position on the battlefield. Dash opened his Pokédex to check it out.

 

“That’s a Raichu!” he said.

 

“RAICHU, THE MOUSE POKÉMON; RAICHU IS THE EVOLVED FORM OF PIKACHU WHEN EXPOSED TO A THUNDERSTONE. RAICHU’S LONG TAIL SERVES AS A GROUND TO PROTECT ITSELF FROM ITS OWN HIGH VOLTAGE POWER.”

 

“You stand no chance,” Lt. Surge said. “My Raichu is beyond powerful!”

 

“ _We’ll see about that,_ ” Dash thought. “Vulpix, use Confuse Ray!”

 

“Raichu, use Thundershock!”

 

Raichu released a powerful bolt of electricity that struck Vulpix well before she could use the move. Vulpix soon fell to the ground from the powerful force, unable to battle.

 

“With one hit?!” Dash said in shock.

 

“Isn’t that something?!” Lt. Surge said. “Pure power to knock out any foe!”

 

Dash was amazed at his strength. Lt. Surge’s Raichu was truly a powerhouse, one that made Lt. Surge what he was: a strong Gym Leader. Dash recalled his Vulpix to sent out his last remaining Pokémon. And Dash could only hope that he wasn’t going to lose.

 

“Go, Nidoran!”

 

Dash sent out his male Nidoran to fight against Raichu. Lt. Surge wasn’t impressed with his Pokémon at this point. Now he simply felt sorry that he had such weak Pokémon.

 

“Nidoran, use Poison Sting!” Dash ordered.

 

Nidoran used Poison Sting to strike Raichu, but he didn’t seem to be affected by the attack, despite the poison seeping into it.

 

“Raichu, use Mega Punch!” Lt. Surge ordered.

 

Raichu powered up his fist and charged towards Nidoran. Raichu unleashed blow after blow of powerful force. He hit his opponent hard enough that it shot him back against the wall. Nidoran struggled to stand up, but Raichu got right in front of it, with his tail whipping around.

 

“End this, Raichu,” Lt. Surge said. “Thunderbolt!”

 

Raichu began to exert a lot of electricity as he fired the powerful Thunderbolt at Nidoran, electrocuting him, resulting in a powerful explosion as the bolt connected to the ground. Dash covered himself with his coat as he feared for what happened to Nidoran. Dash uncovered himself as the dust faded to see Nidoran with his eyes shut.

 

“N-Nidoran?!” Dash said, worried.

 

Nidoran wasn’t moving. Dash was shaking horribly and his eyes were vibrating in shock. Dash ran over to him, picked him up and ran out, crying for him. He busted out the door, freaking Lina and Adam out. They both wondered what happened, while Lt. Surge just walked off with his Raichu. The two of them followed him to wherever he was going, hoping he was all right.

  


To Be Continued!

**Author's Note:**

> Pokemon is copyright Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures Inc. and The Pokemon Company. All non-Pokemon characters are copyright myself.


End file.
